Open mike 06/01/2021
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6:00 am, January 6th, 2021 - 28 comments
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- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #3
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021 Editor's Choice NASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to help Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash ...23 hours ago - The frail elderly and COVID vaccines – should we be concerned?
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...2 days ago - Guest post: How to ‘fairly’ share emissions from goods traded around the worldThis article, guest authored by Dr Michael Jakob, Dr Hauke Ward & Dr Jan C Stecke, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Jan 4, 2021. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Photo by Kingsley Jebaraj on Unsplash Each year, close ...2 days ago
- How good is the AstraZeneca vaccine looking? Look at the data, not news headlinesHappy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...2 days ago
- Opening Pandora’s American Box
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...2 days ago - 100 Days 4 Action
School Strike 4 Climate is holding a "100 Days 4 Action" rally outside Parliament on the 26th: The Youth of NZ will be standing up for climate action once again on January 26th outside of Parliament for School Strike 4 Climate NZ’s 100 Days 4 Action campaign rally. “We ...3 days ago - A Big Science Publisher Is Going Open Access. But at What Cost?Grigori Guitchounts In November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...3 days ago
- Early next step: Add risk management to National Climate AssessmentThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...3 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 15 January 2021
Tiwai Point Smelter deal Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Aluminium smelter deal – who caved? Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Power play: Meridian Energy reaches deal with Rio Tinto over Tiwai Point Smelter No Right Turn: Paying the BluffGeld Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Tiwai Point negotiations continuing despite breakthrough on smelter RNZ: Locals ‘absolutely thrilled’ about Tiwai Point’s revival Evan Harding (Stuff): Tiwai aluminium smelter to stay open until ...3 days ago - Will New Zealand’s Body-Politic Be Snatched By Trumpism?
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...3 days ago - Thoughts on the Amazon LOTR TV Series Synopsis
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...3 days ago - Hat tips to history
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...3 days ago - Ideology as an organising principle.
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...4 days ago - Paying the BluffGeldSo, Rio Tinto has supposedly reached a deal with Meridian and Contact to give them cheaper electricity prices and keep the Tiwai Point smelter open. Down south, they're celebrating. But the rest of us shouldn't be. I've argued before that the best thing this foreign polluter can do is close. ...4 days ago
- Impeached againThe US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...4 days ago
- Dire wolves went extinct 13,000 years ago but thanks to new genetic analysis their true story can no...Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Thanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 14 January 2021Twitter suspension of NZ accounts Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Twitter’s suspension of New Zealand-based right-wing accounts ‘an overreaction’ – Simon Bridges Alex Braae (Spinoff): NZ right-wingers caught up in global purge of Twitter accounts No Right Turn: The Twitter Purge Marc Daalder (Newsroom): NZ far-right Twitter accounts suspended Jason Walls (Herald): Twitter crackdown reaches NZ: Hundreds of NZ right-wing users kicked off Twitter ...4 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2, 2021Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...4 days ago
- The Mob Rules Society: Reckoning between an Idea versus the Reality of America as chickens came home...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...4 days ago - The Twitter PurgeIn the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...5 days ago
- They’re everywhere: New study finds polyester fibres throughout the Arctic OceanPeter S. Ross, University of British Columbia The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...5 days ago
- Time to tackle the housing crisis!
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...5 days ago - Cleansing the TwittersI’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 13 January 2021Covid Nick Wilson & Michael Baker (The Conversation): With COVID-19 mutating and surging, NZ urgently needs to tighten border controls Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Government’s latest Covid measures described as both too strong and too weak RNZ: Covid-19: Ban on UK flights should be considered – Professor Nick Wilson Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Covid-19 testing numbers plummet, worrying experts Phillip Hill & Brian ...5 days ago
- Liam Hehir: Do as I say – the ongoing risks of covid hypocrisyThe hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...5 days ago
- How we work: Getting input from scientistsOver the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...5 days ago
- One way of fixing itYesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...6 days ago
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- NZ Politics Daily: 12 January 2021Covid, vaccine, and border Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Government accused of being ‘too relaxed’ over new Covid strains Herald: Judith Collins on urging Govt to accelerate rollout of vaccine Jason Walls (Herald): Government being lobbied to accelerate the Covid vaccine rollout ‘before it’s too late’ Shannon Redstall (Newshub): Coronavirus: Judith Collins calls for vaccine roll-out ‘now’, or consider closing the borders Newsroom: Lockdown expected ...6 days ago
- Seeds of DoubtNOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here. Tess Tuxford Ko te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...7 days ago
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- The Trump Insurrection: Primal Urges And Transgressive Images.7 days ago
- To Impeach Or Not?
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...1 week ago - Evening On The Land (For The United States of America)1 week ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021 Editor's Choice After the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...1 week ago
- Guest post: How human activity threatens the world’s carbon-rich peatlandsThis article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...1 week ago
- Taxonomies of mass political violence.The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...1 week ago
- A cracked windowOn Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...1 week ago
- Post-pandemic cities can permanently reclaim public spaces as gathering placesAnne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...1 week ago
- A New World Order?
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- Fundraiser for Lumad Communities: Lunch at Nanam Eatery
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...1 week ago - On Prisons."Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...1 week ago
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- 2020: The History That Was – Part 1
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...1 week ago - NZ Politics Daily: 8 January 2021US politics and NZ Marc Daalder (Newsroom): It could happen here Matthew Hooton (Herald): Capitol Riot confirms Donald Trump leaves office as worst President in history(paywalled) Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Kiwi Chris Liddell weighs up resigning as Trump’s deputy chief of staff Damian George (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern on US Capitol riot: Democracy ‘should never be undone by a mob’ Herald: ‘Democracy will prevail’: Jacinda ...1 week ago
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In the interests of keeping my D&D campaign write-up coherent, I thought I would adopt the same system as I have adopted with other multi-part blog post series. An Index/Compendium. Contextual musings: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/dd-again-drow-musings-and-originality/ Sessions 1-6: The Waking World to the Dreamland: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/the-adventures-of-annalax-volume-i/https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/06/18/the-adventures-of-annalax-volume-ii/ Sessions 7-8: Ocean and City: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/07/02/the-adventures-of-annalax-volume-iii/ ...1 week ago - The Adventures of Annalax: Volume XV
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...1 week ago - Telling It Like It IsIn a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...2 weeks ago
- The madness of King Trump
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- NZ Politics Daily: 7 January 2021Waikeria prison riot Te Aorewa Rolleston and Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Police fired rubber bullets at men during Waikeria Prison standoff Alexander Gillespie (RNZ): Waikeria inmates’ protest: a symptom of a much larger problem ODT: Editorial – Thorough Waikeria review needed Mackenzie Smith (RNZ): Waikeria prison protest prompts calls for Hōkai Rangi rethink John Weekes (Herald): Waikeria riot: Jail staff union’s ...2 weeks ago
- Song for Georgia
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- Realistically, “post-Trump” Era America may amount to little more than a wardrobe change in crit...
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- Long COVID: who is at risk?Frances Williams, King’s College London For most people, infection with SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – leads to mild, short-term symptoms, acute respiratory illness, or possibly no symptoms at all. But some people have long-lasting symptoms after their infection – this has been dubbed “long COVID”. Scientists are ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 6 January 2021Housing Financial Times: New Zealand’s housing crisis poses big test for Jacinda Ardern Jean Bell (RNZ): Buying first home will be out of reach for more people in 2021 – CoreLogic Dan Satherley (Newshub): House prices kept going up through December, Government and investors blamed David Chaston (Interest): History repeating Craig Elliffe (Herald): Taxing residential properties: Is it time to pull ...2 weeks ago
- A dangerous decision for journalismLast night, a British court ruled that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US. Unfortunately, its not because all he is "guilty" of is journalism, or because the offence the US wants to charge him with - espionage - is of an inherently political nature; instead the judge accepted ...2 weeks ago
- Is the Gender Identity Movement a movement for human liberation, or a regressive movement underminin...
Is the Gender Identity Movement a movement for human liberation, or is it a regressive movement which undermines women’s liberation and promotes sexist stereotypes? Should biological males be allowed to play in women’s sport, use women-only spaces (public toilets, changing rooms, other facilities), be able to have access to everything ...2 weeks ago - Six space missions to look forward to in 2021Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University and Gareth Dorrian, University of Birmingham Space exploration achieved several notable firsts in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, including commercial human spaceflight and returning samples of an asteroid to Earth. The coming year is shaping up to be just as interesting. Here are some of ...2 weeks ago
- Oxford COVID vaccine authorised in the UK – global health expert on why this is a key momentMichael Head, University of Southampton The UK has become the first country to authorise the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for public use, with roll-out to start in the first week of 2021. This vaccine is the second to be authorised in the UK – following the Pfizer vaccine. The British government ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 5 January 2021Today’s content Waikeria prison riot Chris Trotter: A Powerful political metaphor Polly Gillespie (Stuff): The prison riot that didn’t need to happen Kim Workman (RNZ): Transforming Waikeria – Hōkai Rangi or Hōkai Nuku? John Minto (Daily Blog): Waikeria – dignity and respect still missing 38 years later Ani O’Brien: Waikeria Prison riots and calls for prison abolition Don Franks (Redline): Reflections ...2 weeks ago
- Johnson back in hospitalSo, Boris Johnson has been footering about in hospitals again. We should be grateful, perhaps, that on this occasion the Clown-in-Chief is only (probably) getting in the way and causing distractions, rather than taking up a bed, vital equipment and resources and adding more strain and danger to exhausted staff.Look at ...2 weeks ago
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- COVID 19 – Double+ UngoodThe situation in the UK is looking catastrophic.Cases: over *70,000* people who were tested in England on 29th December tested positive. This is *not* because there were more tests on that day. It *is* 4 days after Christmas though, around when people who caught Covid on Christmas Day might start ...2 weeks ago
- Reflections after Waikeria incident
by Don Franks For five days over New Year weekend, sixteen prisoners in the archaic pre WW1 block of Waikeria Prison defied authorities by setting fires and occupying the building’s roof. They eventually agreed to surrender after intervention from Maori party co-leader Rawiri Waititi. A message from the protesting men had stated: ...2 weeks ago - A Powerful Political Metaphor.Lost Opportunity: The powerful political metaphor of the Maori Party leading the despised and marginalised from danger to safety, is one Labour could have pre-empted by taking the uprising at Waikeria Prison much more seriously. AS WORD OF Rawiri Waititi’s successful intervention in the Waikeria Prison stand-off spreads, the Maori ...2 weeks ago
- A covidious year
Dear friends, it’s been a covidious year, A testing time for all of us here— Citizens of an island nation In a state of managed isolation, A team (someone said) five million strong, Making it up as we went along: Somehow in typical Kiwi fashion, Without any wild excess ...2 weeks ago - 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #1A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 27, 2020 through Sat, Jan 2, 2021 Editor's Choice 7 Graphics That Show Why the Arctic Is in Trouble Arctic Sea Ice: NSIDC It’s no secret that the Arctic is ...2 weeks ago
- The Shadow of the Nineteenth Century: Rider Haggard and Tolkien
One of the books I read in 2020 was She, by H. Rider Haggard (1887). I thoroughly enjoyed it, as being an exemplar of a good old-fashioned adventure story. I also noted with amusement ... 2 weeks ago - What we know so far about Covid19
Scottish doctor Malcolm Kendrick looks at the pandemic and the responses to it 30th December 2020 I have not written much about COVID19 recently. What can be said? In my opinion the world has simply gone bonkers. The best description can be found in Dante’s Inferno, written many hundreds of ...2 weeks ago - December ’20 – NZ blogs sitemeter ranking
2 weeks ago
- Twenty highlights of 2020
As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...2 weeks ago
- Cook Islanders to resume travel to New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...3 days ago - Supporting communities and landowners to grow employment opportunitiesJobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...4 days ago
- Border exception for some returning international tertiary studentsThe Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...4 days ago
- Tiwai deal gives time for managed transitionToday’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...4 days ago
- New member for APEC Business Advisory CouncilPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...5 days ago
- Govt’s careful economic management recognisedThe Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...5 days ago
- Additional actions to keep COVID-19 out of NZThe Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...6 days ago
- 19 projects will clean up and protect waterways$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...1 week ago
- New Zealand Government acknowledges 175th anniversary of Battle of RuapekapekaThe commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...1 week ago
- Better care for babies with tongue-tieBabies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...2 weeks ago
- Prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison overThe prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...2 weeks ago
- Pre-departure COVID-19 test for travellers from the UK and the US from 15 JanuaryTravellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...2 weeks ago
- PM congratulates New Year Honour recipientsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has added her warm congratulations to the New Zealanders recognised for their contributions to their communities and the country in the New Year 2021 Honours List. “The past year has been one that few of us could have imagined. In spite of all the things that ...3 weeks ago
- David Parker congratulates New Year 2021 Honours recipientsAttorney-General and Minister for the Environment David Parker has congratulated two retired judges who have had their contributions to the country and their communities recognised in the New Year 2021 Honours list. The Hon Tony Randerson QC has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for ...3 weeks ago
- New Year’s Honours highlights outstanding Pacific leadership through challenging yearMinister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the New Year’s Honours List 2021 highlights again the outstanding contribution made by Pacific people across Aotearoa. “We are acknowledging the work of 13 Pacific leaders in the New Year’s Honours, representing a number of sectors including health, education, community, sports, the ...3 weeks ago
- Supporting seniors to embrace technologyThe Government’s investment in digital literacy training for seniors has led to more than 250 people participating so far, helping them stay connected. “COVID-19 has meant older New Zealanders are showing more interest in learning how to use technology like Zoom and Skype so they can to keep in touch ...3 weeks ago
- Majority Of Kiwis Want Continued Monitoring Of Abortions
A nationwide poll has found majority support for the government to continue to closely monitor abortions in New Zealand and the reasons for it, despite the Ministry of Health recently suggesting that there is not a use for collecting much of this information. ...15 hours ago - Gangs And Guns: Govt Failing To Keep Our Community SafeThe out-of-control growth in gangs, gun crime, and violent gang activity is exposing our communities to dangerous levels of violence that will inevitably end in tragedy, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “The recent incidents of people being shot and ...15 hours ago
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https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-scare-hamilton-district-court-in-lockdown/GF3JLARWVCYT6H4FNR2EKOWHC4/
“ a woman who works at a Hamilton managed isolation facility had recently had a Covid-19 test because she displayed symptoms.
She was still awaiting her test results but turned up at court today anyway.”
How stupid is this ! For sure this woman knew better than to leave her home till results were known.
My neighbours are sick with flu like respiratory symptoms from something that arrived with and they caught from family Xmas visitors from Waiheke Island. I asked her – from 6 mtrs away – has anyone gone for testing . The answer was no.
Step up Kiwis or we’l l be like England in no time at all!
We really should totally shut our borders for a while.
NZ borders are closed except for NZers/NZ residents and some exceptions. Cant stop New Zealanders from returning home.
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/covid-19/border-closures-and-exceptions
Banana Republicans in Pennsylvania are doing a dry run on what they apparently hope Pence can do tomorrow. They're refusing to seat a Democratic State Senator whose win was certified by the state, because the Repug loser is still trying to contest the result, using an argument the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has already considered and rejected.
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/01/05/pennsylvania-senate-swearing-in-ceremony-chaos-jim-brewster-nicole-ziccarelli/
For more background:
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/republican-block-democrat-jim-brewster-ballot-fight/2654982/
With 16% of the vote counted in Georgia, Insider Trading Barbie is even further behind than Chicken Man. Dunno whether that's a reflection of Warnock being more popular than Ossoff, or people being more turned off by Insider Trading Barbie than Chicken Man.
I have hopes it's an indication of black enthusiasm and turnout for Warnock and Ossoff is riding the coattails. Because that's a cause that's more likely to hold through to the finish of counting.
What I use to watch yankee news channels.
Set up for my preferred choice – msnbc, but there are links to other networks.
https://www.livenewsmag.com/msnbc-live-tv/
With 21% counted, the split for both Dems is around 52% to 48%
I've been obsessively watching since counting started. The Dem – Repug split has gone up and down, but Warnock has consistently been around 0.4% higher than Ossoff.
Maybe all that's telling us is misogyny against Insider Trading Barbie is stronger than racism against Warnock. Or maybe some anti-semitism against Ossoff.
Yeah – Have been similarly pre-occupied 🙂
Interesting the factors involved with voter preferences – I see Purdue has also been involved in heavy financial dealings wrt insider trading as well! Although of course he denies any responsibility.
40% counted and the split is even greater! 56% to 44%!
Dunno, man. Right now Ossoff is behind by about 120,000 votes. I'm not hopeful there's enough left to count for him to make that up.
Warnock is behind by 87,000, so that’s a bit more hopeful.
Yeah! I am a bit apprehensive myself re Ossoff. But according to those in the know there is a heap of votes in predominantly Dem voting counties still to come in – around 330,000 which could split 85:15 to the Dems based on the Nov election results. So I still have my fingers crossed.
Massive turn out – predicted to be around 4.15m! Which is not a good precursor for Dems apparently – but seems to have been a good turn out of black voters which does auger well. Warnock would be only the 10th Black senator and the first for Georgia!
Rev. Warnock and Chicken Perdue are local. Also Rev. Warnocks ads since the election have been upbeat, friendly, approachable, good fun to watch and contain puppies.
KKKelly is a transplant and it appears has no ground game other then being appointed to the senate by Brian Kemp – who rumor has appointed her to prevent her from running against him – self funded.
Ossoff he ran for office previously in 2017 and lost – albeit he put up a good game. He is a local in so far that he grew up in Georgia and at the 2017 run lived a short distance outside of the 6th district. So he has some name recognition and also has had a few good moments on TV – i.e. Perdue is a Crook leading to Perdue refusing to debate with Ossoff, and in the last few weeks two good clicks with
Fox news.
So maybe its not mysoginy as much as it is a stinking rat that no one wants to poke with a pole and thus the lady can't win.
It did also not help that a Trump supporting group posted about 100 billboards in red areas not to vote for Loeffler or Perdue as they 'did not do enough to help Trump 'claim' the 16 electoral votes from Georgia.
gosh weka you really don't want to learn from this do you.
Your misconduct in your roll on this site is inexcusable and is a large driver of the ongoing bullying here.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[You started this morning with wild and unsubstantiated accusations of bullying and group blindness and already clearly hinted at “moderation policies” being the issue (https://thestandard.org.nz/no-extradition-for-assange/#comment-1773348).
I was a little perplexed, to be honest, because I had not seen any bullying of any commenter, including yourself, nor could I figure out what “moderation policies” you were referring to at the time.
However, you have now crossed a line accusing an Author-Moderator of serious misconduct on this site and blaming them for not just being responsible but being “a large driver of the ongoing bullying here” [my emphasis].
It is becoming quite clear to me that you have an axe to grind with this Author-Moderator because of unresolved past personal grievances. However, it seems likely that this is just going to fester indefinitely, by the looks of it.
In order to protect the site from further fall-out, again, which will drive many readers as well commenters away, again, and which does not make it exactly welcoming for female/feminist Authors to contribute here, I am instructing you to cease your personal vendetta with weka about Assange’s rape charges or face a permanent ban; you don’t set the rules here.
Because emotions are running high, I’d suggest that you don’t respond to this Moderation note immediately, but let it sink in, for a while, and then decide whether you want to keep dignity and integrity intact and stay here or walk away in protest, preferably without too much fuss.
I sincerely hope you’ll make a wise decision – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 2:43 PM.
Could we possibly discuss this in private?
If you wish, you can send an e-mail to Lprent (https://thestandard.org.nz/contact-us/) when you have serious concerns about moderation, moderation policies and/or particular Moderators. Irrespective, if the Trustees think that a Moderator has overstepped their mark, they will take appropriate action against that Moderator. The site is paramount; individuals come second, in a particular order too.
HTH
Thanks for that. I did attempt to communicate on that channel in 2016?. I received a reply (and here i heavily paraphrase) "Its my site i can act like a dick if i want to". While I do not dispute the obvious truth of this I cannot see it as a way forward. Anyway the facts are all in full view you can choose to act for the good of the site or not. I do suggest that a review of the rest of whole thread will show the extent of uninformed bullying and commentator turn off that you are confronted with
That was then, this is now. Unless your concerns are the same and your e-mail is the same, chances are that you might get a different response.
The reason I stepped in/up was that the commentary was at a point of no return, with no realistic option of reaching some kind of agreement even if it were to hold a cease-fire. For obvious reasons, this is called ‘shit hits the fan’ because the crap flies in all directions and turns the whole site into a stinky disgusting place where nobody in their right mind wants to be.
Besides one very angry and emotionally charged and scarred commenter, who has been banned since, I could not and still cannot see evidence of bullying under the Post up to the time of your first allegation @ 6.6 (6 January 2021 at 9:36 am).
For any issues regarding alleged bullying and/or driving bullying by an Author-Moderator, the only option is to contact Lprent and state your concerns clearly and with evidence. You cannot realistically address another Moderator for this!
"I could not and still cannot see evidence of bullying under the Post up to the time of your first allegation @ 6.6 (6 January 2021 at 9:36 am)."
Well you are wrong.
be that as it may I re-state here
neither complainant alleged rape and this is documented in this link form an impeccable source
https://medium.com/@njmelzer/response-to-open-letter-of-1-july-2019-7222083dafc8
[No, you may not “re-state here”! You had been given clear instruction to drop the issue and you had agreed to let things cool off. You have broken your word.
If you think I am wrong, which is quite possible, the least you must do is to present your evidence, which you did not. As such, it was a baseless assertion. Instead, you used it as a pivot to “re-state here”.
I have been very patient and lenient with you and have tried to help. However, you’re taking the piss with me because you are adamant that you are right and have the right to set and follow your own rules on this site. You don’t give a toss about being under Moderation, which is/was not an avenue for you to claim your right of being right here (i.e. litigate and re-litigate your points), but to calm down and find a constructive way forward. The way forward, the only option available to you was/is to e-mail Lprent.
As I have stated before, my job is to protect the site. I’m not interested in being pulled into the rabbit hole of Assange’s rape charges. The issue is, for me, your allegations about bullying, particularly by an Author-Moderator. The other issue is that you play by your own rules here from a dogmatic right-wrong binary position, i.e. you are right and weka, others, and I are wrong. This in itself is quite telling.
Given that you blatantly ignore help, warnings, instructions, and rules, given that you break your own word, and because you are wasting Moderator time, I will leave you no other option but to discuss your grievances with Lprent. He or another Administrator can also decide whether you deserve to have commenting privileges here.
Banned until further notice – Incognito]
This has been an incredibly tough and divisive issue over the years, and while I've taken a position supporting Assange right from the outset (the political manipulation behind the 'charges' was obvious to anyone who cared to look), I've also tried not to be unnecessarily provocative toward those who took the other view. Sexual politics being a minefield, it's poor form to be throwing rocks around.
But of all the things I've read over the years, this Nils Melzer letter pretty much covers it off. Required reading.
See my final Moderation note to you @ 10:27 AM.
Why is everyone preoccupied with trivia like US Senate elections, and the mad behavior of the Orange one when there are far more important topics to be resolved?
Should man of the match in the Cricket Test go to Kane Williamson for a very good knock of 238 in the New Zealand innings or should it go to Kyle Jamieson who took 5/69 in the first innings and is now on 5/33 in the second?
My pick is Jamieson. The clinching factor of course that he also got a score of 30 not out in the NZ innings. All those in favour?
Sorry, Alwyn, but TS needs a lower grade of thread into which should be dropped any comments regarding circenses.
Reading the write-up on the win on Stuff, this was one of the comments and bears repeating.
HT Slim Shady.
Nz in home tests since Dec 2017
16 Matches
13 Wins
0 Loss
3 Draws
8 consecutive series wins (2 each against England and West Indies, 1 each against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan)
Margin of victories
By an innings – 8 times
By more than hundred runs – Thrice
By 10 and 7 wickets – Once each
This team is phenomenal at home
Now if they can win their first ever series against South Africa (they are scheduled to tour Nz in Feb 2022) and then against Australia (possibly in the summer of 2023) it'll be the icing on the cake
(Nz has never won a series against South Africa home or away while their last series win against Australia was three and a half decades ago in 1986)
That last paragraph is really depressing to someone who was relishing the win.
Mind you, Australia are bloody hard to beat anywhere, at least at Cricket. To balance that I like to remember that the last time Australia beat New Zealand in Rugby at Eden Park was also in 1986.
Now you are just being silly. Read the bloody thing, then we talk!
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
OK here is direct quotes BUT I will not enter into argument with a position of ignorance either accept this as definitive or READ THE WHOLE LINK.
"as far as SW is concerned, her police report states that, after Assange woke her up trying to initiate intercourse, the two had a conversation in which she asked Assange whether he was wearing a condom and he replied he was not. She then said he “would better not have HIV” and he replied that he did not, after which, she “let him continue” (lät honom fortsätta) to have unprotected intercourse. There are no indications of coercive or incapacitating circumstances suggesting lack of consent."
"as far as AA is concerned, even the Swedish prosecution never suggested that the conduct alleged by her could amount to “rape”. In a Twitter-message of 22 April 2013, AA herself publicly denied having been raped (jag har inte blivit våldtagen)"
DO NOT RESPOND UNTILL YOU HAVE READ THE WHOLE THING I am sick or your assertions and attacks on other commentators from a position of wilful ignorance!
https://medium.com/@njmelzer/response-to-open-letter-of-1-july-2019-7222083dafc8
[you appear to have misunderstood Xanthe. This isn’t a conversation, you are being moderated. Commenters don’t get to tell moderators what to do. Please reread the Policy so you understand where the boundaries are. I see Incognito has given you a mod note above, and I certainly don’t want to be spending any more time on this, so will leave it with the two of you for now – weka]
mod note.