(It's not often we get to hear the rare voice of Jewish people born in Palestine before the creation of the state of Israel, who had to leave their homeland because they opposed the Zionist state.)
….both my parents were born in Palestine as it then was, and uh Israeli citizens, who um became very concerned about um what was happening in Israel as they were growing up in the 1950s. And then when following the sixth day war they were one of a relatively small number of Israelis who immediately opposed the fact of the occupation.
I'd just like to read you something that my father was a co-signatory to, with a very small number of Israelis, including a Palestinian citizen of Israel.
This is what they said in a declaration that was published by Haaretz newspaper. Obviously I'm reading you an English translation of the Hebrew, this was on the 22nd of September 1967.
[please stop spamming TS with long copypasta. We want people’s own ideas, with links and targeted quotes as back up or further explanation. This is not a place to just dump what you are reading and expect others to read it too. I see you have written a longer post in your own words, that’s good stuff.
From now on, you are restricted to 3 paragraphs max of copy and paste in any comment. Please use this wisely and don’t abuse the privilege. I would also strongly recommend less overall copypasta comments – weka]
A very accurate perception as to the dilemma facing Israel in 1967, occupation required empowering locals in Gaza and WB to govern themselves, whether they chose to declare a state, or not.
That would have counter-acted the formation of the PLO by the Arab League (not recognising the state of Israel) in 1964 with someone Lebanese as its first chairman.
In 1974 ʿArafāt advocated limiting PLO activity to direct attacks against Israel, and the Arab community recognized the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of all Palestinians. It was admitted to the Arab League in 1976
The absence of any policy led not just to the Egyptian and Syrian attack in 1973, but the formation of Likud in 1977 (with a policy of peace with Egypt, the invasion to the north against the PLO in Lebanon and settlements in the occupied territories). And its current leader BN has always opposed the Oslo Accord process to a two state peace (a legacy of the Labour era of rule which ended in 2001).
Israel says that they will appear before the ICJ to defend themselves from South Africa's charge of committing genocide. This is exactly analogous of the Russian Federation's response to the case taken against them in the ICJ by Ukraine. Only two countries, Malaysia and Turkey, have filed submissions to the ICJ as 'Intervening States' Compare this to the 32 'Intervening States' including New Zealand that gave their country's submissions to the ICJ in the case of Ukraine vs. Russia
Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ that Russia had falsely claimed that Ukraine had committed the crime of genocide.
The Russian Federation sent a team of lawyers to defend Russia's position that Ukraine had committed genocide against ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in the Donbas. An accusation that Ukraine strongly denied.
The proceedings of the ICJ are live streamed. I found it worthwhile to review these video recordings of the Ukraine vs. Russia case before the International Court of Justice in the Hague, in the historic and grandly named 'Peace Palace'.
I recommend anyone interested in how the case of South Africa vs. Israel will play out to watch the recording of the live stream of the Ukraine vs. Russia case.
The UN's top court in The Hague, Netherlands began five days of hearings, where representatives of Russia and Ukraine clashed over President Vladimir Putin's allegations of genocide in eastern Ukraine, as a pretext for the "special military operation" to “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine”
From the live stream of the hearing in the Peace Palace, Ukraine vs. the Russian Federation
The livestream of the opening address by the presiding ICJ President, Joan E. Donoghue begins @0:00 minutes
The court meets today and will meet in the coming days to hear the oral ligaments of the parties on preliminary objections raised by the respondent in the case concerning allegations of genocide under the convention on the prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide.
Ukraine versus Russian Federation 32 states intervening as well as the oral observations of the intervening states with respect to the subject matter of their interventions.
This morning the court will hear the first round of oral argument of the Russian Federation…..
I can highly recommend watching the recording of these proceedings
After watching the live stream of Ukraine vs. the Russian Federation, I am of the opinion that the two cases. Ukraine vs. Russia, and South Africa vs. Israel, are apposite, but opposite. These two cases are apposite in that they are mirror opposite images of each other.
The main difference between the two cases being US allies like New Zealand will not be making legal submissions as intervening states party to the genocide convention in the case of South Africa vs. Israel, as they did in the case of Ukraine vs. Russia.
Our parliamentary journalists and opposition MPs need to be asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs to explain the reason why New Zealand intervened in one case and not the other.
To them I would say: 'If you ever wondered what you would have done during the Holocaust, you are doing it now.'
New Zealand was at war with Germany during the holocaust.
It is for the collective security of nation states from aggression.
It is for a two state peace process to realise the outcome intended in 1947, despite the war in 1948.
Given the action of Oct 7 and the right of nations to self-defence (including defeat of the military that attacked them), Israel is accountable for its "war-time" actions. Otherwise for the occupation of the West Bank, which Hamas might claim was its provocation (given Gaza was more under blockade than occupation itself).
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
—H———————————————————-
ALLEGATIONS OF GENOCIDE UNDER THE
CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE
(Ukraine v Russian Federation, 32 States Intervening)
WRITTEN OBSERVATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND
(PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS)
4JULY2023
…..New Zealand intervenes in its capacity as a Contracting Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948 ("the Convention").2
It does so in response to the gravity of the circumstances giving rise to this case, its implications for the maintenance of international law, and its impact on the
obligations shared by all parties to the Convention.
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (MFAT), Statements and speeches: 20 September 2023
Delivered by Andrew Williams, Chief International Legal Adviser (acting), 20 September 2023
1. Madam President, members of the Court, it is an honour to appear before you today and to present New Zealand’s submissions in these critical proceedings.
2. New Zealand has chosen to intervene in these proceedings because we consider that the issues in this case go to the very heart of the international rule of law and the protection of this Court’s role in the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Support for the submissions of Ukraine and intervening States
3. Madam President, I do not intend to repeat every point put forward in New Zealand’s Written Observations. Nor will I rehearse the arguments made by Ukraine and the intervening States in their written and oral submissions. We broadly support the points they have made.
In my opinion, it would be the height of hypocrisy, and an international embarrassment, if New Zealand did not repeat our nation's intervention, in its capacity as a Contracting Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948
Government urged to join genocide case against Israel
Justin Wong
January 4, 2024
A group of the country’s legal experts, including two King Counsels and two emeritus legal professors, are urging the Government to join South Africa’s case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Ten lawyers and academics, including leading human rights lawyer Frances Joychild KC, as well as Auckland University law professor emeriti David V Williams and Jane Kelsey, penned the open letter on Friday to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Attorney-General Judith Collins and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith…..
That is precisely what they are – anti-science. They are extremely dangerous and there needs to be a concerted international effort to curb their increasing influence. Their anti-mandate/anti mask stance is just a manifestation of their denial of scientific evaluation and modelling.
The best equivalent are the flat earthers of a couple or more centuries ago. People who flatly denied the Earth was round and executed people for holding 'scientific' views based on actual evidence.
Weka….it was me who suggested "rebels" and "they" are the rag-tag mass of people with disparate aims/objectives who camped and demonstrated on the lawn outside parliament using covid as their excuse.
agree that they are disparate group. Not sure it's entirely about the parliament protest but also agree that the Freedom protest gave people a focus for a wider range of grievances. It certainly brought things to a head.
Much respect for weka and the work she puts into this site, but disagree with her views on this subject. That rag-tag mass of disparate individuals who behaved so badly during the parliament protest were indeed who I was referring to. I thought it was obvious. I would add the individuals from NZ and off-shore who supported and enabled (financially and otherwise) their activities.
since you brought up anti-sciencism, and referenced Scientific American, there's this to consider about accusations of being anti-science.
Scientific American takes a pro-gender identity ideology position. It publishes articles that say there are more than two sexes in humans, or that sex isn't binary.
This is SA's editor in chief being anti-science on twitter.
A community note (where registered people can add notes correcting incorrect tweets), was attached to that tweet
White-throated sparrows have 2 sexes with 4 unique chromosome combinations. There are still just 2 sexes that produce either sperm or eggs. The female types are the white-striped females and the tan-striped females. The male birds are white-striped males and tan striped males. audubon.org/news/the-fasci…
Colin Wright, evolutionary biologist, also replied,
So if you want to claim that every covid dissident is anti-scientific, then by your argument I can claim that every person who isn't gender critical is anti-scientific, which means you (and Robert) are anti-scientific. See how that works?
The point here is to have political terms that aren't pejorative so we can get past the name calling and superficial political analysis and really get to grips with the issues. I agree that something needs to be done, but I don't think what we need can be achieved by ostrasisation and ridicule.
Does the group you're trying to label include those who fear Agenda 21? Those who donated money to Liz Gunn's campaign and for the whistleblower's legal defence? Those who subscribe to Sue Grey's channel?
Are they the people who wanted to string "Jabcinda" up because she's a witch?
Are there "Covid dissidents" who aren't also conspiracy theorists?
If they opposed the Governments authoritarian behaviour around mask-wearing, mandates and vaccination programmes, they surely held views that the authorities were conspiring against the people. Those who I spoke to over that time certainly do. There will be some (relatively few) who, for reasons of health etc. were opposed but how many of those didn't end up extrapolating bad intent by the Government? Genuine question.
Of course there are covid dissidents who don't believe in conspiracy theories.
It doesn't require a conspiracy theory to think there were problems with the mandates. Or to feel uncomfortable with a new vaccine.
I think your surety here speaks about your own politics and positions rather than being about the wide range of people with a wide range of beliefs that we are talking about.
I know, personally, several people who were firmly anti-mandate and personally anti-Covid vaccination.
Some of them chose to be vaccinated because of Covid risk to elderly family members; some of them felt coerced into being vaccinated by the government mandates (and were very angry about this). Some of them held by their principles, and refused Covid vaccination, and weathered the storm of public disapproval and exclusion (these were even more angry)
[Please note the word 'felt' above, I have no interest in relitigating whether or not the Government mandates actually amounted to forced vaccination]
None of them are 'anti-science' in general (no conspiracy theories in other areas). And, indeed, a smattering of 'science' made them more concerned over a novel (mRNA) and untested vaccine (untested, as in no longitudinal studies). And within living memory we have instances of 'science' recommending medical treatments which caused major issues (thalidomide).
Some of them felt coerced into being vaccinated by the government mandates (and were very angry about this).
The mandates worked then. As far as I know the concept was to encourage (you said coerce) people to get vaccinated for their own health and for the health those around them, and to reduce the burden on the health system.
encourage is a kind of weasel word the right like to use. Let's encourage beneficiaries back to work by forcing them to live in poverty, kind of thing.
The mandates were what they said on the label. People were required to vaccinate or lose their jobs. That wasn't encouragement, it was a mandate.
Part of the damage done by the mandates was the refusal of some to acknowledge the damage that was being done. The comms and social commentary added to that. The left taking an ostracise and ridicule approach is part of why we have a right wing government currently.
It hard to know how many more vulnerable people's lives would have been lost were it not for mandates. Perhaps someone will model it if they haven’t already.
If some people didn't have to get vaccinated, they simply wouldn't do it (those people more concerned with the self rather than the many, which is a thing peculiar to the right wing) and we would have had less vaccine coverage.
yes, the point of the mandate was in part to coerce vaccine hesitant people into getting vaccinated. It wasn't encouragement, it was mandatory if one wanted to keep a certain job.
I wouldn't call myself a covid dissident, but I'm sure there are some who would give me that label. For instance when I have talked about the problems with the vaccine mandate. I'm also vaccine hesitant (although double vaxxed against covid). None of my views or beliefs on that requires belief in a conspiracy theory.
I value dissent as a cultural practice very highly, and probably have a higher tolerance for it than many.
Also, if I said that there is an overarching system, run by wealthy and powerful people, that operates to control all the money in the world for the benefit of rich people and it is killing the planet, is that a conspiracy theory? Or it is just a plain language sentence about late stage neoliberal capitalism?
Besides, I'm willing to bet that you hold some beliefs that the science geeks here would find anti-scientific. Me too. We've all got our weird ideas. I find it bizarre that there are still people who think alternative medicine is the devil's work. Or that putting salmon genes in strawberries is a good idea. But here we are.
My own theory is that many of the covid dissidents and wider counter culture around alt health have solid intuitive understandings of something being wrong, but they don't have the science literacy or cultural concepts to parse that into something meaningful to wider society. They are as susceptible to power and control culture as the rest of us. And because they were already both fairly libertarian (or tactically libertarian as Psycho Milt pointed out on twitter) and used to being counter culture, they both care and don't care about being ostracised. Ostracisation isn't working other than to motivate them to organise.
I think they also have some seriously problems thinking critically, and other issues. But that's not all they are.
I think Labour did an incredible job during an unprecedented and very difficult time. I also think they made some mistakes. Much of that I put down to overload, but I also think some of it was simply ideological (Ardern's two NZs interview is an example).
Most of the cooker/dissidentsI have engaged with on the issue have settled on the latter. Is this not the general case? Happy to hear otherwise.
Again, I think this reflects your experience as much as anything. There are certainly lots of people down the rabbit hole. But not all people that would get called cooker are that. Maybe you need to get out more? 😉 By which I mean, the people that engage in the ostracise and ridicule strategy have boxed themselves into a corner, they see what they see.
Whereas the people I know who are covid dissidents are for the most part ordinary people with some strange ideas who take part in my community just like everyone else and contribute a great deal. Some of them are so far down the rabbit hole it's nearly impossible to talk with them, some of them just think the government fucked up on things like the mandates and the vaccine programme. I have friends who are the latter, but who were relatively ok with the lockdowns because of their lifestyle. I know others who think the lockdowns were heinous.
In all of that I still see them as humans first. What I observe about the use of the word cooker is that it's starting to move towards dehumanisation. The people all get lumped togethers, they're a hive mind, and they're all terrible. See Joe90's comments blaming them for LC when it's actually the government and health authorities and MSM that are letting this tragedy unfold.
Are you really a Covid-dissident?
No, as I said, I am not. But I remember the vaccine convos here in the first few years of the pandemic, and how difficult it was to talk about my concerns about the vaccines being developed, as someone with a long term illness and not knowing how it might impact on me (and others). It wasn't a supportive environment (fair enough, it's a political blog), but it was a feature that people's beliefs were driving their politics across the board.
Reactions to and perceptions of details of those interviews are pivotal to the discussion, imo.
I still reel/marvel at the different takes on Jacinda's words (spoiler: I believe cookers received Jacinda's words wrongly and have tried many times to bring this issue to (some of their) attentions. Much hatred was spawned from those moments, and I attribute the negative responses to the cookers, or whatever lable you care to give those folk.
You make a good point, Robert. My textbook example would be from one of the most empathetic speeches in Parliament, in my opinion, by Michael Wood, which was received by some in such a way that it caused much bad blood [no pun intended].
Thanks, Incognito and yes, you are, not unexpectedly, on point with your comment. I don't expect a fruitful discussion will in fact eventuate, but at least I'm encouraged to find that others (you, at least), are aware of this situation.
Today's discussion around differentiating and assigning lables to the lively players in the Covid Event has been really interesting, imo, though there have been no definite lines drawn, rules set, as I expected. That there weren't is not a reason to despair about the process of debate; it's natural, imo.
I can see weka’s point(s) and I have considerable sympathy for it. It was brave to attempt initiating a discussion around the use/over-use/mis-use/abuse of the work “cooker”. However, it was entirely predictable that it would go in many different directions given the background context akin Pandora’s Box (or the proverbial can of worms).
My take-home message for today would be to avoid such loaded (and often meaningless, ironically) terms and/or try articulating clearly and specifically what one means (aka say what you mean). This won’t avoid all confusion and misinterpretation but it might go some way in alleviating the worst ones.
The additional problem is that the ‘baggage’ from one discussion thread tends to follow to other threads like a bad on-line review that’s impossible to shake off. People build some kind of (assumed) persona/avatar of themselves but also of others and they (we) strengthen & confirm these images in & through our future interactions here on TS. And so on and so forth.
I thought the conversation today was interesting too, and it was good to see people hashing things out. Having a conversation about the two NZ interview etc would be great, I can’t see why that can’t be a good debate 🙂
Or you could call us "widely read"…ie don't blindly accept the pap pumped out by mainstream media.
Or perhaps, since we find and reference peer reviewed scientific papers that show data that proves that despite the "safe and effective" narrative the mRNA products were nether, you could call us "not as gullible as the mainstream".
Or perhaps you could call us "ban-hammer" bait since we cop a blow for suggesting that the mRNA shots were not such a good idea risk/benefit wise for the Young People. As was advised by the government of the day's very own Covid Vaccine Advisory Group. As was revealed via an OIA a while back. Not that the true lefties on TS would have mentioned it.
Or you could simply call us "Legends". I haven't spoken to a single person who regretted declining the Pfizer product. (And no…we are not dead.) I've spoken to plenty who took it and have vowed never again.
Of course the Good, True Lefties on TS would have to be brave and step outside their echo chamber to meet any of them. Or the regretful simply wouldn't risk the rabid opprobrium by telling their true thoughts on the matter.
[1. you’re flaming. 2. I looked at the mod notes (front and back end) for the past three years and what I see is you repeatedly being put into premod and/or banned for failing to present evidence when asked by a mod, or failing to respond to mod requests. 3. you also tend to disappear when the mods ask for a response.
All three of those are consistent patterns of behaviour that have taken up a lot of moderator time on TS.
I can also see that moderators put a lot of time into trying to get your to change the patterns of behaviour and the last mod notes in the backend were basically about us giving up because it’s clear you had no intention of changing.
You are back from a very long ban and straight back into the flaming, and misrepresenting moderation. Neither of those are tenable here.
I’m not willing to use my time trying to get you to change your behaviour, nor wait around for you to respond.
I really wish you would sort this out in yourself, because you have a much longer history of bringing good debate to TS. Please give this some thought on your next ban. 6 months – weka]
Those vulnerable to any infection because of poor immunity (in some part age related) were dependent on being in a country with a successful border bubble, or privilege of a secure personal bubble – in part created by others having up to 6 months immunity by vaccine.
Of course those who survived have no regrets about not taking the vaccine and those who did, now only threatened by a milder omicron and with the health system able to cope (and with anti-virals etc), wonder if they had to vaccinated to be safe.
That is because we vaccinated before ending the bubble, and then had a vaccine (for up to 6 months prevention from infection from delta) but then got hit with the transition to the more infectious but less deadly omicron.
That those in good health wonder at the need for boosters on and on, when it does not prevent infection and the illness is milder, does not make a case for not being vaccinated before this was known and some safeguard before ending the border bubble was required.
Yes Robert, I was and still am firmly against the mandates. They did more harm than good if you look at the bigger picture. For very little extra gain in vaccine coverage we've managed to alienate a significantly large group of people and it will take years to repair the damage to society.
Mandates are a big reason we have our curent govt as the dissafected vote swung in behind Winston.
Id argue the damage we're going to see over the next 3 years is a direct result of Jacinda Arden going back on her word and introducing the mandates.
The last three on that list are who I think of when the term 'cookers' is used.
So maybe it is a perfectly good term, just is being misused to include #1 on the list.
It's also being used to include anyone who dissents from the the mainstream view on the pandemic whether they hold problematic views or not.
I don't think there is any coming back from that misuse, the term is now solidly a pejorative.
Cooker is an Australian idiom used as an othering word. It doesn't have the kind of history that Nazi does. Not terribly surprising, but I am seeing a number of lefties in this conversation wanting to reinforce their prejudices.
The problem I have is that cooker is probably in breach of the site Policy in the way it gets used here,
What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others. We are intolerant of people starting or continuing flamewars where there is little discussion or debate.
true, but from a mod pov, it’s not about how you feel about the word, it’s about how the word gets used in conversations in the wider political context.
For instance, if someone decided that the word slag was mild but used it to talk about women in pejorative ways, I would moderate irrespective of the user’s feelings about the word.
During the 2023 election, NZ Loyal received 1.20% of the party vote (34,456 votes), and won no electorates, so did not enter parliament. Gunn had claimed during the campaign that her NZ Loyal party would win 2 million votes. In response to the preliminary results, Gunn stated that New Zealand was being ruled by a "criminal cabal and at the very least, utter bullies." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Gunn#2023_general_election
I don't like bullies, but Gunn's anti-vaccination activism is not for me.
the problem with conspiracy theorist as a term is that not all covid dissidents believe in conspiracy theories. See Belladonna’s comment below.
I think covid conspiracy theorists are a subset of covid dissidents, but perhaps it’s more a Venn diagram with overlaps.
Gunn is fascinating because she’s obviously disconnected from reality in important ways without being classically mentally ill. She’s also probably dangerous. Will be interesting to see what she does over this term.
My own view is that while I think people like her need to be addressed directly, I think that on its own is insufficient, and we also need to build bridges with the much larger group of people that have been or are being radicalised to that culture. Literally none of the lefties who favour ostracisation and ridicule as an approach have explained how that would work and what the endgame is.
Red Logix once referred to me as a trollop. He was trying to make a play on the word, but obviously thought the joke was ok. The feminists and some leftie men in the room were unimpressed and took him to task. This is what I mean about it not being about the feelings of the person using the word when there is a wider political context.
I don’t think cooker is the same as slag, but I still think it’s sufficiently problematic in ways you might not be appreciating.
The trollope comment, back in the days when the debate was more personalised,
Pejoratives are generally inflammatory to the people they are about/directed at. Does it matter if its only covid dissidents who are upset about the word?
I’ve been increasingly uncomfortable about how the word is used and almost never use it now myself. The conversation today has shown that a number of people here who use the word, think of it as a pejorative. I also asked on twitter, and likewise, there were those who understood and those who came up alternatives such as ‘fuckwits’. Do you really think it’s ok to use a term that people consider a synonym of fuckwit?
I remember a time when many lefties used the term terf, unaware that it was also associated with the worst misogyny many of us have seen online. Gender critical feminists knew about it though.
In the end I had to moderate the use of the word on TS, because the leftie liberals were committed to their ignorance about how the word was used and its impact. Or maybe they knew and didn’t care.
Cookers not a great word, in Aussie it gets used to describe people that have signifcant mental health issues (bipolar etc) it does way more harm than good and honestly beneath you.
the problem with conspiracy theorist as a term is that not all covid dissidents believe in conspiracy theories.
Yes, including Venn diagrams – was suggesting 'Conspiracy theorists' as a less derogatory alternative to 'cookers', on the basis of my current understanding of this particular meaning of 'cookers'.
Cooker – a derogatory term for conspiracy theorist; according to the National Dictionary Centre, "a derogatory term for a person involved in protests against vaccine mandates, lockdowns and a range of other issues perceived to be infringing on personal freedom". Emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the word made the shortlist for "Word of the Year" in 2022. The term is also loosely associated with the far right. An explanation of the term given by an Australian in answer to a question on Twitter is that "It refers to soneone(sic) whose brain has been cooked by overexposure to conspiracy theories and unhinged online rhetoric"
Anyway, this convo has left me behind. I too like Francesca's “Covid dissidents” @5.1, although since Covid dissidemts/dissenters are typically opposed to one or more aspects of the pandemic response, maybe consider 'pandemic response-dissidents'.
That dictionary def is broader, and that’s what I observe. As explained, there are people who oppose government pandemic response who don’t believe in conspiracy theories about covid.
"I remember a time when many lefties used the term terf, unaware that it was also associated with the worst misogyny many of us have seen online. "
But is "cooker"" associated with the worst (anything) many of us have seen online. "
Nope.
Not fair to conflate the 2 terms.
That said, I'm not going to die in a ditch for "cooker", though you might be assuming that I would. I could hardly care less. Call them dingbats, or crack-pots, if you want to. I thought "cookers" was kinda cool 🙂
I understand that there are people who oppose government pandemic response who don’t believe in conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic, for instance some of those opposed to vaccine mandates or MIQ.
"Gunn is fascinating because she’s obviously disconnected from reality in important ways without being classically mentally ill. She’s also probably dangerous."
"Gunnites"?
(Those who align with Liz's thinking?)
That'd be a sub-group but a definite measure; you could ask, "Do/did you support Liz Gunn's New Zealand Loyal parties pronouncements 🙂
My understanding is that the pejorative form of the word 'cooked' is associated with meth, as in 'cooking' meth. The implication is the target of the pejorative is impaired by drug use. It's use is far wider than applying to covid (I was called a 'cooker' for supporting wider tree protections in Auckland); it's become a lazy go-to for people who prefer labelling people than understanding or discussing their point of view.
dunno. I guess it depends on what you mean by label 😉
Terms are useful for shorthand. I use leftie a lot despite it having quite the range of meanings. Language is about communication, and the goal here is to look at whether certain language is used and understood as intended, and whether that's useful or not.
Back in those days anyone who questioned the govt response, or even possible quibbles about Pfizers trials (as published by the BMJ)were absolutely pilloried and mocked .
I myself noticed a kind of patriotic fervor in myself,….sacrificing for the common good !….buying the Ashley tea towel…privately judging others.."no way is that a bubble!!"
that I'm not now all that happy about.
At the time children had very little risk, they were to have the vaccine to protect their grannies.
But was that justified?re the fact that transmission wasn't blocked by the vaccine and generally children weren't affected badly enough by the virus to develop full blown symptoms
Yes there was a tiny risk we were all made aware of
A very few young children died of covid.
But when people died of vaccine related myocarditis those deaths were valued differently
In that climate of obedience to the science there was a very real struggle to have vaccine associated injury recognized and treated. Thank goodness for those people who did go against the current and speak up
A lot of this seems like how people behaved rather than any official insights (which were backed by evidence). In particular Children under 12 were never expected to get vaccinated and the health departments message indicated the risk of unvaccinated under 12s being severely effected by covid was thought extremely small. I also never saw any official suggestion that transmission was blocked by the vaccine. The suggestion was that the severity of infection would be limited by the vaccine making people less infectious, but officially nothing stronger was ever presented (or tested in trials).
I also was well aware of the few vaccine related myocarditis deaths as these were reported in NZ. It shouldn't be a trade off, buy these would likely have been treated by those people with symptoms after vaccine seeking medical advice. The 'advice' presented by the anti-vaccine groups was not to be aware of the risks but instead to be exposed to the virus unvaccinated, and this always carried higher risk of myocarditis than vaccination.
Those at most risk of myocarditis from the vaccine were younger males from 12 to 17
Those at most risk of myocarditis from covid infection were males over 50.
One group is not the same as the other
None of us were forced to take the vaccine but there was a very strong expectation in the public messaging that we would be selfish and negligent leading to our grannies deaths if we
didnt
Overall
I have no regrets at being fully vaccinated, but I did have some qualms about the messaging
"I gathered that those at risk of myocarditis were also the group unlikely to suffer severe effects from covid ."
I don't think this is relevant (and I assume you mean younger males are at higher risk of this adverse vaccine effect?). As far as I am aware the mechanism for myocarditis is the same in both the vaccine and via infection. This means its a question of risk trade off. All the studies demonstrated reduced risk of adverse effects from covid infection after vaccination in all age cohorts. Even in this age cohort its trading off accepting a larger risk for a significantly smaller risk (which could also be mitigated by decent vaccination follow up).
The only thing I do think that the health department could have done better was to recognise that this vaccine needed to be injected muscularly, and that the standard practice in NZ didn't check that the injection had not directly penetrated a blood vessel (this check can discomfort the patient). The procedure for administration should have been part of the vaccinator training as soon as this was understood and this may have significantly reduced (maybe eliminated) this risk.
"The govt was strongly encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated."
Not U12s as far as I observed. There was a track on the vaccination rate, but every message I saw was very clear that U12s didn't need to be vaccinated for participation in any kind of activity.
Those most at risk of myocarditis from the covid vaccine were young men between 12 and 17.
Those most at risk from myocarditis from covid infection were older men after the age of 50
And the govt was strongly encouraging parents to get their 5-11 year old children vaccinated
“The government is strongly encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19, but I want to be clear that this is a choice for parents. The Government has no intention of making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for anyone in this age group,” Chris Hipkins said.
The inference was that younger people should be vaccinated to save their grannies .As younger people were less inclined to have severe covid and therefore less inclined to be shedding, the connection between getting vaccinated and saving granny wasn't quite correct .But it served a purpose.
I don't think is quite true. With earlier variants, vaccination helped prevent transmission.
Also, most vaccination works because populations do it. It is inherently an act of solidarity as well as personal protection. The narrative that said we shouldn't vaccinate children to save old people because children shouldn't be expected to help old people by personal sacrifice, is odd to me. But then I think old people are worth saving and I see the benefits to children of both having old people around and of being involved in protecting them. Likewise helping people with health disabilities.
I think the lockdowns did more to prevent transmission .Transmission was never tested for in the vaccine ,but I do remember the puzzlement when people started getting covid two or more times after the vaccine ,.There was uncertainty around it, as in , is this residual from the first infection?Why is this happening ?
It was a setback.Like a lot of things, we were learning as we went, there were no certainties, as in the masking.First absolutely not required, then required in all public places.It took a while before we realised it was transmitted aerially.
I suggest we still have a long way to go.Science is not fixed or settled, we test what we think we know all the time.
I was thinking about this recently too, about how much we didn't know at the start and having to err on the side of caution. People leaving their delivered groceries to sit for three days, hospital staff doing major cleanse routines before going into their home they shared with vulnerable people. It was full on and understandable. Reasonable imo too.
I think there was a lot of confusion and poor comms around different kinds of vaccinations. Probably the health bods assumed people knew that some vaccines don't prevent all instances of a disease, but we really needed clear and persistent explanations about that and we just didn't get them.
Yes lock down was a big part of it. And masks and hygiene etc. We needed all the things. That too was hard for some to get their head around at the time.
The lockdowns were effective at the time, but only with the earlier variants. NZ (and Australia) was fortunate in being able to effectively close its borders and put all entries through quarantine. The same approach would simply not have worked in places like the UK however as they are more connected and by the time this was operational you would have been years of constant lockdowns away from allowing free movement in any country where that was tried. NZ started lockdowns with still a reasonably small number of cases in NZ which is why you could see they had a limited time frame.
By the time NZ was vaccinating delta variant was arriving and due to its higher infection rate NZ quarantine was becoming no longer effective. Omicron was worse again and there was probably a case per day getting through quarantine and infecting people after arriving into NZ.
Will have a think, although a term is still risking implying a hive mind. As I have said before, in regards to those who gathered on Parliament grounds, there was diversity in the motivations for the congregation.
quite. We have the same problem with terms like left and liberal. I don't think that is insurmountable, it's that we just need to develop language for a new political dynamic and cohorts that have arisen.
Are those from the "cooker" party 🙂 seeking recognition of that commonality, do you think? Is there anything you can point-to that would illustrate that?
Maybe your Nana could have shown you what question marks mean.I understood GSays question and agree with him.I would answer his question with the word yes
The question as I read it was , and this is a paraphrase "Surely its more useful to find common ground ?" GSays not laying down the law, gently enquiring
"Surely" makes it a statement, not a question, but I know what you've taken from the comment, so…it's, imo, wiser to keep your enemies close 🙂 Maintaining lines of communication and a friendly atmosphere is sensible. My question is: are those-who-are-sometimes-referred-to-as-cookers acting in that way? Or are they excluding themselves by communicating at closed meetings, on less-used social media sites etc?
Well I thought I already had by suggesting covid dissidents
And I wouldn’t presume to have any clue about how such a varied group communicates
It would be just as varied as their rationales
I know 3 ,ones was in full p addiction (14 months clean now wohooo) 1 is full libertarian and ones a fear full alternative lovey, hard to get one name for them in all honesty.
SURD – Self-obsessed U-[your choice of adjective] Rationality Denier.
Kind of apt, seeing that "surd" is another term in maths for an irrational number (i.e. one which can't be expressed as a ratio of two whole numbers, such as √5). Lends itself to such expansions as ab-surd, etc.
(If you include the "O" as well from "obsessed" you get SOURD – also rather fitting, as it's French for deaf.)
Please don't use that word as an insult. I am Deaf myself and I do not appreciate that word being used to insult other people whether it is in French or English, thanks.
Forecasted costs associated with long covid (PASC) are astronomical and a study showed that vaccination and multiple boosters dramatically lower the risk of long covid (PASC).
Those actively opposing measures that mitigate the impact of covid on the community deserve every pejorative coming their way.
Those actively opposing measures that mitigate the impact of covid on the community deserve every pejorative coming their way.
Except that all of the restrictive measures (apart from facemasks in A&E wards in hospitals) – have been removed. There is no requirement for vaccination, for masking, for social distancing, for limits on gatherings, or any of the other 'Covid restrictions' which happened in 2020 & 2021.
All of those people who resisted those measures (whether passively or actively) then, are indistinguishable from the rest of 'the community', now. They haven't changed their behaviour, we have.
[Yes, Yes, I know there are some people who still mask in public – less than 1 in 500 from my observation – they are the outliers, now]
I have had 6 covid vacs now Bella…oddly few of the pro vaccine people I know have kept up with their vaccines despite knowing full well they should have.
All of those people who resisted those measures (whether passively or actively) then, are indistinguishable from the rest of 'the community', now. They haven't changed their behaviour, we have.
Do we know their behaviour hasn't changed? Next time perhaps they will be a little more socially conscious knowing their predicted mass deaths and birth anomalies from the mRNA vaccine haven't eventuated.
My behaviour has changed. I'd not had a flu vaccine until before last winter when I did the double (flu and Covid). I'll probably do this from now on but would have been unlikely to were it not for the pandemic.
"Next time perhaps they will be a little more socially conscious knowing their predicted mass deaths and birth anomalies from the mRNA vaccine haven't eventuated."
Ha! Those who predicted that, believe it more than ever before, thanks to their gullibility, their crack-pot social media feeds and the "obvious cover-up" of "their" whistleblower, doncha know!
"I know there are some people who still mask in public"
Me, for one. And all vaxxes up to date. When you've a disabled partner with at least two co-morbidities, you can't afford to chance it. I've only recently stopped keeping my going-out clothes separate from my indoor ones. But I still sanitise on entering any store, and wash and sanitise after coming home.
Suppose we're all outliers in one way or another, desperately wanting to fit in.
If it's any comfort, I've also kept my and my elderly father's and step-father's vaccinations against Covid-19 current, and mask up in crowded indoor spaces such as supermarkets and theatres.
So, we can be outliers taking health precautions together. Those precautions really aren't that much of an inconvenience, and have been effective – so far.
Well Joe , you better come to this neck of the woods and protest.Covid is absolutely rampant in the area, no one wears masks, there is no campaign up and running for people to keep their vaccines up to date, super spreader events go unrestricted and people are still getting sick and dying of covid
The problem is that the 'them' are not a homogenous group. Their views are often nuanced, and in some cases are worthy of consideration.
The term 'dissident' has been suggested, but dissident generally means someone who opposes official policy. I would suggest that if you consider the totality of the official response towards Covid (including the lock downs and mandates) the 'them' may end up being a hell of a big group!
There are many forms of science denial from chemical to biological. They overlap in some places, but not others. It would be hard to find an all encompassing term to cover that sort of range.
The recently screened Breathless on TV1 was a potent reminder of the chaos in British hospitals when Covid was rampant three plus years ago. That same chaos never happened here due to necessary steps taken by Government and health experts.
However, I will never ever forget the then National opposition screaming "Open the Borders" almost on a daily basis. Only concerned about businesses struggling but no concern for people's health, or pressure on our hospitals. Just as cold and cynical as the last edict "keep smoking kiwis, we want your tobacco taxes".
Important reminder – health/MIQ workers, even our govt, were not out to 'get' us.
And, critically, they largely worked together, unlike in the UK, where the NHS and govt often worked against each other, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic.
cubed.
Just as concerning as the widespread infections and the almost unsustainable pressure on the health system was the apparent desire on the authorities' part to hide the true state of affairs and persecute anyone who dared to break the silence.
With very few temporary exceptions, we don’t ban words here on TS as such. We moderate on intentional behaviour that runs counter the site’s Policy and if/when this becomes pattern behaviour, we ban the commenter after one or more warnings depending on the severity of the behaviour.
The problem I have is that cooker is probably in breach of the site Policy in the way it gets used here,
What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others. We are intolerant of people starting or continuing flamewars where there is little discussion or debate.
to reinforce what Incognito just said. I haven't said I would ban the word cooker. Like the word terf, it depends on how it is used. Atm it strongly appears that cooker is mostly used as a pejorative. My thinking rn is to limit its use because there are people who comment here who would find the language had the effect of excluding others. I can't see the rationale for letting people use it in the same way I wouldn't for lots of other words directed at commenters or potential commenters.
I have offered to take a look at the word woke, but instead of you doing the mahi to back up your concern, you seem to just want to sit on TS and yet again take pot shots at moderation. You have history of this and its tedious. I will now take it that your point about 'woke' wasn't a point about the word at all and will ignore your complaint.
someone uses the word cooker pejoratively, I ask them to stop, they either do, or they don't and they cop a ban. Usual process and pretty much what I did with terf.
You are missing the point. The use of certain words/language can be trigger points for moderation of intentionalbehaviour, especially when used in a repetitive habitual manner (i.e. over-used) although it then often tends to lose its original meaning (e.g. misused) and become ‘weaker’ bordering on meaningless and therefore useless (in/for robust debate). As always, it depends on the context and, as always, it depends on sound & fair judgement.
With written communication, as we do here on TS, it’s much harder to interpret meaning and intention than with in-person face-to-face interaction. Some people are more prone to jumping to (right/wrong) conclusions (e.g. if the shoe fits) than others are. Humans and human communication are fascinatingly beautiful and complex (awesome) and are always richer and more diverse than we can imagine (thankfully).
Not true sorry, I was banned for a year for the use of a word. So you may think what you wrote is how you behave and most of the time it is, but the reality is not so wrapped up in a nice little bow. I stand by what I said by the way. And have learnt all the banned words that their are on the standard. You all have fostered the best and most visceral type of censorship – self censorship.
A 6 month ban because you posted something potentially defamatory and thus put the site owners at legal risk, and then you doubled down and posted it again and had a go at the mods
Not quite being banned for the use of a word is it. I don't remember what the word was, but I'm willing to be it could be used on TS in other contexts and not be a problem.
What you were actually banned for was something else entirely.
actually I can see the original comment in the back end. You accused JK of money laundering for drug cartels. Maybe what you actually meant was that in his previous life in international banking he worked for organisations that turned a blind eye to whose money they were handling, but maybe not, maybe you really meant that FJK personally was knowingly laundering money for drug cartels. Which is defamatory and you can't post things like that on site without evidence.
You could have clarified all that at the time but you didn't.
The thing about TS is that there have been some bad moderations at times. But generally the only content we moderate on is legal risk stuff. The rest is all about behaviour: flaming, trolling, long copypast etc, but mostly wasting moderator time and attacking mods/authors. I don't know what is so hard to understand about this.
Key is a Tory cunt and needs to be called out for his shitfuckery, but no. Can't say that, someone will get offended.
to which I, who had moderated your defamatory comment, replied,
you can call him a Tory cunt (honestly held opinion). You can't make claims of fact about him that might end up with Lynn and Mike in court. Nothing to do with being offended, so fuck off with that bullshit lying about moderation. If you have a problem with the site policy take it up with Lynn and see how you get on.
Nope not that – it was how my expression of my opinion of the US VP which I got banned for a year for. An opinion I stand by, by the way.
Because when people kill your friends sons, you can forgive them – but still think of them as a specific type of scum.
[Again, you fail to back up your accusations with the necessary evidence such as a link to the comment that allegedly resulted in a one-year ban. Weka tried to find it, so I also tried and couldn’t find it either.
So, you have a few days to produce the evidence or I’ll ban you for one year and this time for real – Incognito]
My apologies mixed things up. This comment was just censored – it did not get me a ban. Happened around the same time as the 6 month ban (mentioned above by weka) which I thought was a year.
Please do yourself (!) and me a favour and research the difference between censorship and moderation. I’m fed up with accusations of censorship here and will take a hard line from now onwards with anybody who’s stupid enough to go there.
FYI, and a repeat of what I said before in this thread, we moderate mostly on behaviour and particularly patterns of behaviour that run counter to this site’s Policy. The most extreme moderation tool is banning and as such, we ban for behaviour and rarely for words/language only.
Some content might be banned too, e.g., when it is harmful (and we have a low tolerance for violence in any form), defamatory, or puts the site at legal risk and these could be considered as censorship, especially when we also delete the offending parts. However, ideas or ideologies are not banned by default unless it’s the ‘ideology’ of trolling, astroturfing, and/or DP.
Let’s draw a line under this and I hope I will never have to moderate you for this again.
Didn't they campaign on road toll up (higher speed limits), smoking deaths up (we all know about their daft smoking policy), Maori deaths up (Maori Health Authority) murders up (gun policy) sub-standard domestic water deaths up (3 waters)…hell of a policy platform.
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This myth is supported by a huge propaganda and military machine. But it is a lie. Workers produce the wealth of nations, the 1% are leeches, or the 'vampire squid'.
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Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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#1 South Africa Vs. Israel
(It's not often we get to hear the rare voice of Jewish people born in Palestine before the creation of the state of Israel, who had to leave their homeland because they opposed the Zionist state.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8raPPzme0s
[please stop spamming TS with long copypasta. We want people’s own ideas, with links and targeted quotes as back up or further explanation. This is not a place to just dump what you are reading and expect others to read it too. I see you have written a longer post in your own words, that’s good stuff.
From now on, you are restricted to 3 paragraphs max of copy and paste in any comment. Please use this wisely and don’t abuse the privilege. I would also strongly recommend less overall copypasta comments – weka]
A very accurate perception as to the dilemma facing Israel in 1967, occupation required empowering locals in Gaza and WB to govern themselves, whether they chose to declare a state, or not.
That would have counter-acted the formation of the PLO by the Arab League (not recognising the state of Israel) in 1964 with someone Lebanese as its first chairman.
https://www.britannica.com/summary/Palestine-Liberation-Organization
The absence of any policy led not just to the Egyptian and Syrian attack in 1973, but the formation of Likud in 1977 (with a policy of peace with Egypt, the invasion to the north against the PLO in Lebanon and settlements in the occupied territories). And its current leader BN has always opposed the Oslo Accord process to a two state peace (a legacy of the Labour era of rule which ended in 2001).
mod note.
#2 Ukraine vs. Russia
Israel says that they will appear before the ICJ to defend themselves from South Africa's charge of committing genocide. This is exactly analogous of the Russian Federation's response to the case taken against them in the ICJ by Ukraine. Only two countries, Malaysia and Turkey, have filed submissions to the ICJ as 'Intervening States' Compare this to the 32 'Intervening States' including New Zealand that gave their country's submissions to the ICJ in the case of Ukraine vs. Russia
Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ that Russia had falsely claimed that Ukraine had committed the crime of genocide.
The Russian Federation sent a team of lawyers to defend Russia's position that Ukraine had committed genocide against ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in the Donbas. An accusation that Ukraine strongly denied.
The proceedings of the ICJ are live streamed. I found it worthwhile to review these video recordings of the Ukraine vs. Russia case before the International Court of Justice in the Hague, in the historic and grandly named 'Peace Palace'.
https://www.vredespaleis.nl/?lang=en
I recommend anyone interested in how the case of South Africa vs. Israel will play out to watch the recording of the live stream of the Ukraine vs. Russia case.
Streamed live on Sep 18, 2023 #Ukraine #VladimirPutin #Putin
The UN's top court in The Hague, Netherlands began five days of hearings, where representatives of Russia and Ukraine clashed over President Vladimir Putin's allegations of genocide in eastern Ukraine, as a pretext for the "special military operation" to “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine”
From the live stream of the hearing in the Peace Palace, Ukraine vs. the Russian Federation
The livestream of the opening address by the presiding ICJ President, Joan E. Donoghue begins @0:00 minutes
I can highly recommend watching the recording of these proceedings
After watching the live stream of Ukraine vs. the Russian Federation, I am of the opinion that the two cases. Ukraine vs. Russia, and South Africa vs. Israel, are apposite, but opposite. These two cases are apposite in that they are mirror opposite images of each other.
The main difference between the two cases being US allies like New Zealand will not be making legal submissions as intervening states party to the genocide convention in the case of South Africa vs. Israel, as they did in the case of Ukraine vs. Russia.
Our parliamentary journalists and opposition MPs need to be asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs to explain the reason why New Zealand intervened in one case and not the other.
To them I would say: 'If you ever wondered what you would have done during the Holocaust, you are doing it now.'
New Zealand was at war with Germany during the holocaust.
It is for the collective security of nation states from aggression.
It is for a two state peace process to realise the outcome intended in 1947, despite the war in 1948.
Given the action of Oct 7 and the right of nations to self-defence (including defeat of the military that attacked them), Israel is accountable for its "war-time" actions. Otherwise for the occupation of the West Bank, which Hamas might claim was its provocation (given Gaza was more under blockade than occupation itself).
‘
New Zealand intervenes
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (MFAT), Statements and speeches: 20 September 2023
In my opinion, it would be the height of hypocrisy, and an international embarrassment, if New Zealand did not repeat our nation's intervention, in its capacity as a Contracting Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/1/2/south_africa_israel_genocide_icj?fbclid=IwAR3luU2oDM596vKJYn5bv4-4Hl4MWDCK55ti65w5lILdRVA3tDB15IOEVkU
A lovely, touching article that may go some way to soften hearts of those who view rugby as a bunch of boofheads.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/133522428/the-all-black-and-the-groundsman-why-deep-friendships-not-trophies-are-rugbys-lifeblood?cx_testId=12&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0&cx_experienceId=EXE6G6ISTGR0#cxrecs_s
does anyone have a term that can be used in place of cooker to refer to people who were anti-mandate, anti-mask, pro-libertarian and so on?
I need neutral not pejorative words, and catch all terms so I don't have to write a long sentence each time I refer to them.
Covid dissidents? or sceptics
covid dissidents is very good, thanks.
Covid rebels?
That is precisely what they are so I prefer it despite the tougher language.
But covid dissidents is OK.
Pandemic Rebellion!
Covid rebels, mandate rebels might work too. Good to have a range of terms to induce nuance, cheers.
Anti-sciencers?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-antiscience-movement-is-escalating-going-global-and-killing-thousands/
that's a pejorative Anne.
That is precisely what they are – anti-science. They are extremely dangerous and there needs to be a concerted international effort to curb their increasing influence. Their anti-mandate/anti mask stance is just a manifestation of their denial of scientific evaluation and modelling.
The best equivalent are the flat earthers of a couple or more centuries ago. People who flatly denied the Earth was round and executed people for holding 'scientific' views based on actual evidence.
"…people who flatly denied the Earth was round…"
Elegant!
Who are 'they' in that sentence Anne? Be precise.
Weka….it was me who suggested "rebels" and "they" are the rag-tag mass of people with disparate aims/objectives who camped and demonstrated on the lawn outside parliament using covid as their excuse.
agree that they are disparate group. Not sure it's entirely about the parliament protest but also agree that the Freedom protest gave people a focus for a wider range of grievances. It certainly brought things to a head.
Thank-you BG. I didn't see weka's response.
Much respect for weka and the work she puts into this site, but disagree with her views on this subject. That rag-tag mass of disparate individuals who behaved so badly during the parliament protest were indeed who I was referring to. I thought it was obvious. I would add the individuals from NZ and off-shore who supported and enabled (financially and otherwise) their activities.
Quite a few of them don't consider "anti-science" to be a pejorative.
lol, true.
since you brought up anti-sciencism, and referenced Scientific American, there's this to consider about accusations of being anti-science.
Scientific American takes a pro-gender identity ideology position. It publishes articles that say there are more than two sexes in humans, or that sex isn't binary.
This is SA's editor in chief being anti-science on twitter.
from @laurahelmuth
https://twitter.com/laurahelmuth/status/1658952315032698883
A community note (where registered people can add notes correcting incorrect tweets), was attached to that tweet
Colin Wright, evolutionary biologist, also replied,
https://twitter.com/SwipeWright/status/1658977019118383106
And his article explaining the problem,
https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/debunking-pseudoscience-multimodal
So if you want to claim that every covid dissident is anti-scientific, then by your argument I can claim that every person who isn't gender critical is anti-scientific, which means you (and Robert) are anti-scientific. See how that works?
The point here is to have political terms that aren't pejorative so we can get past the name calling and superficial political analysis and really get to grips with the issues. I agree that something needs to be done, but I don't think what we need can be achieved by ostrasisation and ridicule.
Does the group you're trying to label include those who fear Agenda 21? Those who donated money to Liz Gunn's campaign and for the whistleblower's legal defence? Those who subscribe to Sue Grey's channel?
Are they the people who wanted to string "Jabcinda" up because she's a witch?
Hard group to give a respectful title to, imo.
probably does. Just like the term 'left' includes people who believe weird shit.
I'm thinking a broad term, with other more specific terms for sub groups. Just like we do for other political and social categories.
For instance,
Covid dissidents
Covid dissidents who are conspiracy theorists
Covid dissidents who are conspiracy theorists and violent fantacists
Covid dissidents who are fascist or protofascist
But, there are also covid dissidents who aren't down the rabbit hole. The term cooker renders them invisible, another reason I dislike the term.
Are there "Covid dissidents" who aren't also conspiracy theorists?
If they opposed the Governments authoritarian behaviour around mask-wearing, mandates and vaccination programmes, they surely held views that the authorities were conspiring against the people. Those who I spoke to over that time certainly do. There will be some (relatively few) who, for reasons of health etc. were opposed but how many of those didn't end up extrapolating bad intent by the Government? Genuine question.
Of course there are covid dissidents who don't believe in conspiracy theories.
It doesn't require a conspiracy theory to think there were problems with the mandates. Or to feel uncomfortable with a new vaccine.
I think your surety here speaks about your own politics and positions rather than being about the wide range of people with a wide range of beliefs that we are talking about.
Absolutely agree with this.
I know, personally, several people who were firmly anti-mandate and personally anti-Covid vaccination.
Some of them chose to be vaccinated because of Covid risk to elderly family members; some of them felt coerced into being vaccinated by the government mandates (and were very angry about this). Some of them held by their principles, and refused Covid vaccination, and weathered the storm of public disapproval and exclusion (these were even more angry)
[Please note the word 'felt' above, I have no interest in relitigating whether or not the Government mandates actually amounted to forced vaccination]
None of them are 'anti-science' in general (no conspiracy theories in other areas). And, indeed, a smattering of 'science' made them more concerned over a novel (mRNA) and untested vaccine (untested, as in no longitudinal studies). And within living memory we have instances of 'science' recommending medical treatments which caused major issues (thalidomide).
The mandates worked then. As far as I know the concept was to encourage (you said coerce) people to get vaccinated for their own health and for the health those around them, and to reduce the burden on the health system.
encourage is a kind of weasel word the right like to use. Let's encourage beneficiaries back to work by forcing them to live in poverty, kind of thing.
The mandates were what they said on the label. People were required to vaccinate or lose their jobs. That wasn't encouragement, it was a mandate.
Part of the damage done by the mandates was the refusal of some to acknowledge the damage that was being done. The comms and social commentary added to that. The left taking an ostracise and ridicule approach is part of why we have a right wing government currently.
It hard to know how many more vulnerable people's lives would have been lost were it not for mandates. Perhaps someone will model it if they haven’t already.
If some people didn't have to get vaccinated, they simply wouldn't do it (those people more concerned with the self rather than the many, which is a thing peculiar to the right wing) and we would have had less vaccine coverage.
yes, the point of the mandate was in part to coerce vaccine hesitant people into getting vaccinated. It wasn't encouragement, it was mandatory if one wanted to keep a certain job.
Everything is mandatory if.
"…encourage is a kind of weasel word…"
It's also a genuine word, meaning, "give support, confidence, or hope to (someone)." and so on.
Why the wry take?
My comment was about the word encourage in a specific context. Your comment seems to be about teh word generally.
If the government could have encouraged the NZ population to a high vax rate without the mandates, it would have. It couldn't, hence coercion.
How could a dissident not hold conspiratorial views about the government?
Could they convince themselves that the politicians were simply stupid, or reckless?
Unlikely.
I'm keen to hear from a "Covid-dissident" who doesn't think their view of Government is "it's a conspiracy".
I wouldn't call myself a covid dissident, but I'm sure there are some who would give me that label. For instance when I have talked about the problems with the vaccine mandate. I'm also vaccine hesitant (although double vaxxed against covid). None of my views or beliefs on that requires belief in a conspiracy theory.
I value dissent as a cultural practice very highly, and probably have a higher tolerance for it than many.
Also, if I said that there is an overarching system, run by wealthy and powerful people, that operates to control all the money in the world for the benefit of rich people and it is killing the planet, is that a conspiracy theory? Or it is just a plain language sentence about late stage neoliberal capitalism?
Besides, I'm willing to bet that you hold some beliefs that the science geeks here would find anti-scientific. Me too. We've all got our weird ideas. I find it bizarre that there are still people who think alternative medicine is the devil's work. Or that putting salmon genes in strawberries is a good idea. But here we are.
My own theory is that many of the covid dissidents and wider counter culture around alt health have solid intuitive understandings of something being wrong, but they don't have the science literacy or cultural concepts to parse that into something meaningful to wider society. They are as susceptible to power and control culture as the rest of us. And because they were already both fairly libertarian (or tactically libertarian as Psycho Milt pointed out on twitter) and used to being counter culture, they both care and don't care about being ostracised. Ostracisation isn't working other than to motivate them to organise.
I think they also have some seriously problems thinking critically, and other issues. But that's not all they are.
If you're a dissident, you have baulked at the Government's actions; you don't approve of them, that's what the word means, doesn't it?
How would you explain the Government's actions in that case?
Incompetence?
Relying on bad advice?
Or that they conspired to deceive or force their programme, for reasons other than the health of the people?
Most of the cooker/dissidentsI have engaged with on the issue have settled on the latter. Is this not the general case? Happy to hear otherwise.
You have indicated that you believe loss of confidence in the Government over this issue cost the Left the election.
Are you really a Covid-dissident?
I think Labour did an incredible job during an unprecedented and very difficult time. I also think they made some mistakes. Much of that I put down to overload, but I also think some of it was simply ideological (Ardern's two NZs interview is an example).
Again, I think this reflects your experience as much as anything. There are certainly lots of people down the rabbit hole. But not all people that would get called cooker are that. Maybe you need to get out more? 😉 By which I mean, the people that engage in the ostracise and ridicule strategy have boxed themselves into a corner, they see what they see.
Whereas the people I know who are covid dissidents are for the most part ordinary people with some strange ideas who take part in my community just like everyone else and contribute a great deal. Some of them are so far down the rabbit hole it's nearly impossible to talk with them, some of them just think the government fucked up on things like the mandates and the vaccine programme. I have friends who are the latter, but who were relatively ok with the lockdowns because of their lifestyle. I know others who think the lockdowns were heinous.
In all of that I still see them as humans first. What I observe about the use of the word cooker is that it's starting to move towards dehumanisation. The people all get lumped togethers, they're a hive mind, and they're all terrible. See Joe90's comments blaming them for LC when it's actually the government and health authorities and MSM that are letting this tragedy unfold.
No, as I said, I am not. But I remember the vaccine convos here in the first few years of the pandemic, and how difficult it was to talk about my concerns about the vaccines being developed, as someone with a long term illness and not knowing how it might impact on me (and others). It wasn't a supportive environment (fair enough, it's a political blog), but it was a feature that people's beliefs were driving their politics across the board.
"(Ardern's two NZs interview is an example). "
I'd love to talk about those, sometime!
Reactions to and perceptions of details of those interviews are pivotal to the discussion, imo.
I still reel/marvel at the different takes on Jacinda's words (spoiler: I believe cookers received Jacinda's words wrongly and have tried many times to bring this issue to (some of their) attentions. Much hatred was spawned from those moments, and I attribute the negative responses to the cookers, or whatever lable you care to give those folk.
You make a good point, Robert. My textbook example would be from one of the most empathetic speeches in Parliament, in my opinion, by Michael Wood, which was received by some in such a way that it caused much bad blood [no pun intended].
Thanks, Incognito and yes, you are, not unexpectedly, on point with your comment. I don't expect a fruitful discussion will in fact eventuate, but at least I'm encouraged to find that others (you, at least), are aware of this situation.
Today's discussion around differentiating and assigning lables to the lively players in the Covid Event has been really interesting, imo, though there have been no definite lines drawn, rules set, as I expected. That there weren't is not a reason to despair about the process of debate; it's natural, imo.
I can see weka’s point(s) and I have considerable sympathy for it. It was brave to attempt initiating a discussion around the use/over-use/mis-use/abuse of the work “cooker”. However, it was entirely predictable that it would go in many different directions given the background context akin Pandora’s Box (or the proverbial can of worms).
My take-home message for today would be to avoid such loaded (and often meaningless, ironically) terms and/or try articulating clearly and specifically what one means (aka say what you mean). This won’t avoid all confusion and misinterpretation but it might go some way in alleviating the worst ones.
The additional problem is that the ‘baggage’ from one discussion thread tends to follow to other threads like a bad on-line review that’s impossible to shake off. People build some kind of (assumed) persona/avatar of themselves but also of others and they (we) strengthen & confirm these images in & through our future interactions here on TS. And so on and so forth.
I'll not use the term again.
Respect!
I’d consider this a positive outcome of today’s discussion.
respect from me too.
I thought the conversation today was interesting too, and it was good to see people hashing things out. Having a conversation about the two NZ interview etc would be great, I can’t see why that can’t be a good debate 🙂
Or you could call us "widely read"…ie don't blindly accept the pap pumped out by mainstream media.
Or perhaps, since we find and reference peer reviewed scientific papers that show data that proves that despite the "safe and effective" narrative the mRNA products were nether, you could call us "not as gullible as the mainstream".
Or perhaps you could call us "ban-hammer" bait since we cop a blow for suggesting that the mRNA shots were not such a good idea risk/benefit wise for the Young People. As was advised by the government of the day's very own Covid Vaccine Advisory Group. As was revealed via an OIA a while back. Not that the true lefties on TS would have mentioned it.
Or you could simply call us "Legends". I haven't spoken to a single person who regretted declining the Pfizer product. (And no…we are not dead.) I've spoken to plenty who took it and have vowed never again.
Of course the Good, True Lefties on TS would have to be brave and step outside their echo chamber to meet any of them. Or the regretful simply wouldn't risk the rabid opprobrium by telling their true thoughts on the matter.
[1. you’re flaming. 2. I looked at the mod notes (front and back end) for the past three years and what I see is you repeatedly being put into premod and/or banned for failing to present evidence when asked by a mod, or failing to respond to mod requests. 3. you also tend to disappear when the mods ask for a response.
All three of those are consistent patterns of behaviour that have taken up a lot of moderator time on TS.
I can also see that moderators put a lot of time into trying to get your to change the patterns of behaviour and the last mod notes in the backend were basically about us giving up because it’s clear you had no intention of changing.
You are back from a very long ban and straight back into the flaming, and misrepresenting moderation. Neither of those are tenable here.
I’m not willing to use my time trying to get you to change your behaviour, nor wait around for you to respond.
I really wish you would sort this out in yourself, because you have a much longer history of bringing good debate to TS. Please give this some thought on your next ban. 6 months – weka]
mod note.
Hi Rosemary,
Missed seeing you on here, but not here often. Do you have a Twitter account, or can I find you elsewhere?
Those vulnerable to any infection because of poor immunity (in some part age related) were dependent on being in a country with a successful border bubble, or privilege of a secure personal bubble – in part created by others having up to 6 months immunity by vaccine.
Of course those who survived have no regrets about not taking the vaccine and those who did, now only threatened by a milder omicron and with the health system able to cope (and with anti-virals etc), wonder if they had to vaccinated to be safe.
That is because we vaccinated before ending the bubble, and then had a vaccine (for up to 6 months prevention from infection from delta) but then got hit with the transition to the more infectious but less deadly omicron.
That those in good health wonder at the need for boosters on and on, when it does not prevent infection and the illness is milder, does not make a case for not being vaccinated before this was known and some safeguard before ending the border bubble was required.
Yes Robert, I was and still am firmly against the mandates. They did more harm than good if you look at the bigger picture. For very little extra gain in vaccine coverage we've managed to alienate a significantly large group of people and it will take years to repair the damage to society.
Mandates are a big reason we have our curent govt as the dissafected vote swung in behind Winston.
Id argue the damage we're going to see over the next 3 years is a direct result of Jacinda Arden going back on her word and introducing the mandates.
The last three on that list are who I think of when the term 'cookers' is used.
So maybe it is a perfectly good term, just is being misused to include #1 on the list.
Bit like the word 'nazi', has specific and real meaning, but often misused by applying to non-nazi things..
It's also being used to include anyone who dissents from the the mainstream view on the pandemic whether they hold problematic views or not.
I don't think there is any coming back from that misuse, the term is now solidly a pejorative.
Cooker is an Australian idiom used as an othering word. It doesn't have the kind of history that Nazi does. Not terribly surprising, but I am seeing a number of lefties in this conversation wanting to reinforce their prejudices.
The problem I have is that cooker is probably in breach of the site Policy in the way it gets used here,
https://thestandard.org.nz/policy/
As a mod, I'm increasingly feeling like I need to address this, in the same way I had to address the use of terf.
Lefties are often not good a looking at the mote in their own eye.
"Lefties are often not good a looking at the mote in their own eye."
"Lefties" is a pejorative term on Kiwiblog.
and? I'm not understanding your point here Robert.
Meaning, meaning is also dependent upon the audience/user group. What's pejorative to one group can be benign to another.
ok, I agree with that. I think this conversation has demonstrated that the people on TS that like to use the word cooker here, use it as a pejorative.
Ah, but there is more than one group here on TS. Some find it provocative, others quite mild (probably) as I do.
true, but from a mod pov, it’s not about how you feel about the word, it’s about how the word gets used in conversations in the wider political context.
For instance, if someone decided that the word slag was mild but used it to talk about women in pejorative ways, I would moderate irrespective of the user’s feelings about the word.
Imho, 'conspiracy theorist(s)' is a fairer and more descriptive term, if a bit long-winded, although some would consider it pejorative too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories
Liz Gunn didn't make it onto Wikipedia's list of COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, but she is on a NZ-specific list of anti-vaccination activists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:New_Zealand_anti-vaccination_activists
I don't like bullies, but Gunn's anti-vaccination activism is not for me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_vaccine_misinformation_and_hesitancy
the problem with conspiracy theorist as a term is that not all covid dissidents believe in conspiracy theories. See Belladonna’s comment below.
I think covid conspiracy theorists are a subset of covid dissidents, but perhaps it’s more a Venn diagram with overlaps.
Gunn is fascinating because she’s obviously disconnected from reality in important ways without being classically mentally ill. She’s also probably dangerous. Will be interesting to see what she does over this term.
My own view is that while I think people like her need to be addressed directly, I think that on its own is insufficient, and we also need to build bridges with the much larger group of people that have been or are being radicalised to that culture. Literally none of the lefties who favour ostracisation and ridicule as an approach have explained how that would work and what the endgame is.
But no-one would decide that the word "slag" was mild.
The assumption being made around "cooker" is that it's in the same category as "slag". Has that been established anywhere?
Red Logix once referred to me as a trollop. He was trying to make a play on the word, but obviously thought the joke was ok. The feminists and some leftie men in the room were unimpressed and took him to task. This is what I mean about it not being about the feelings of the person using the word when there is a wider political context.
I don’t think cooker is the same as slag, but I still think it’s sufficiently problematic in ways you might not be appreciating.
The trollope comment, back in the days when the debate was more personalised,
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10012015/#comment-949181
terf is the better comparator, but you and I sit on opposite sides of that fence, so it didn’t seem that useful in our conversation.
It has the same dynamic of users not understanding just how harmful the term is though.
Most, if not all readers here would regard "trollop" as rather unkind and wouldn't be used fondly, unless accompanied by a note.
"Terf" is clearly inflammatory, as would be obvious to anyone who's been reading here over the past year or 2.
"Cooker" though, has no history like "slag", "trollop" or "terf".
What I'm asking about is whether it is in fact, inflammatory to anyone other than a cooker 🙂 and if not, why not use it, if you so choose?
(I don't buy the "meth" allusion, btw)
Pejoratives are generally inflammatory to the people they are about/directed at. Does it matter if its only covid dissidents who are upset about the word?
I’ve been increasingly uncomfortable about how the word is used and almost never use it now myself. The conversation today has shown that a number of people here who use the word, think of it as a pejorative. I also asked on twitter, and likewise, there were those who understood and those who came up alternatives such as ‘fuckwits’. Do you really think it’s ok to use a term that people consider a synonym of fuckwit?
I remember a time when many lefties used the term terf, unaware that it was also associated with the worst misogyny many of us have seen online. Gender critical feminists knew about it though.
In the end I had to moderate the use of the word on TS, because the leftie liberals were committed to their ignorance about how the word was used and its impact. Or maybe they knew and didn’t care.
Cookers not a great word, in Aussie it gets used to describe people that have signifcant mental health issues (bipolar etc) it does way more harm than good and honestly beneath you.
Yes, including Venn diagrams – was suggesting 'Conspiracy theorists' as a less derogatory alternative to 'cookers', on the basis of my current understanding of this particular meaning of 'cookers'.
Anyway, this convo has left me behind. I too like Francesca's “Covid dissidents” @5.1, although since Covid dissidemts/dissenters are typically opposed to one or more aspects of the pandemic response, maybe consider 'pandemic response-dissidents'.
[Edit: this is the missing link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_vocabulary#Words_of_Australian_origin – Incognito]
link please
some Ocker on twitter reckons?
That dictionary def is broader, and that’s what I observe. As explained, there are people who oppose government pandemic response who don’t believe in conspiracy theories about covid.
" Does it matter if its only covid dissidents who are upset about the word?"
It should only be cookers who are upset by the word, surely?
"I remember a time when many lefties used the term terf, unaware that it was also associated with the worst misogyny many of us have seen online. "
But is "cooker"" associated with the worst (anything) many of us have seen online. "
Nope.
Not fair to conflate the 2 terms.
That said, I'm not going to die in a ditch for "cooker", though you might be assuming that I would. I could hardly care less. Call them dingbats, or crack-pots, if you want to. I thought "cookers" was kinda cool 🙂
Weka @6:51 pm – sorry for not giving the link for that definition.
It's cut and pasted from a Wikipedia list of words of Australian origin – 'Cooker' is listed between 'Bogan' and ''Didgeridoo".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_vocabulary#Words_of_Australian_origin
I understand that there are people who oppose government pandemic response who don’t believe in conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic, for instance some of those opposed to vaccine mandates or MIQ.
Ta
I’ve added the link to your comment for the convenience of others.
"Gunn is fascinating because she’s obviously disconnected from reality in important ways without being classically mentally ill. She’s also probably dangerous."
"Gunnites"?
(Those who align with Liz's thinking?)
That'd be a sub-group but a definite measure; you could ask, "Do/did you support Liz Gunn's New Zealand Loyal parties pronouncements 🙂
Gunnites works! Seems an appropriate term for that subset.
My understanding is that the pejorative form of the word 'cooked' is associated with meth, as in 'cooking' meth. The implication is the target of the pejorative is impaired by drug use. It's use is far wider than applying to covid (I was called a 'cooker' for supporting wider tree protections in Auckland); it's become a lazy go-to for people who prefer labelling people than understanding or discussing their point of view.
pretty much. Or even people who prefer labelling people than understanding them enough to have a meaningful political critique.
Labeling?
Isn't that what you are seeking to do here, weka?
"Cooker" has enough objection here for it to be rejected, it seems to me.
Finding a new, appropriate lable is quite tricky but also quite fun, imo.
dunno. I guess it depends on what you mean by label 😉
Terms are useful for shorthand. I use leftie a lot despite it having quite the range of meanings. Language is about communication, and the goal here is to look at whether certain language is used and understood as intended, and whether that's useful or not.
The pejorative form may be, but the light-hearted form isn't.
"Nazi" is rarely used light-heartily, cooker often is, imo.
Good to hear of your work with trees.
English is a wonderfully inventive language – so how about "covidents"
Covid-dense?
tempting, but I think it opens itself to misuse (see the comments above about misuse of cooker).
Let's face it
Back in those days anyone who questioned the govt response, or even possible quibbles about Pfizers trials (as published by the BMJ)were absolutely pilloried and mocked .
I myself noticed a kind of patriotic fervor in myself,….sacrificing for the common good !….buying the Ashley tea towel…privately judging others.."no way is that a bubble!!"
that I'm not now all that happy about.
At the time children had very little risk, they were to have the vaccine to protect their grannies.
But was that justified?re the fact that transmission wasn't blocked by the vaccine and generally children weren't affected badly enough by the virus to develop full blown symptoms
Yes there was a tiny risk we were all made aware of
A very few young children died of covid.
But when people died of vaccine related myocarditis those deaths were valued differently
In that climate of obedience to the science there was a very real struggle to have vaccine associated injury recognized and treated. Thank goodness for those people who did go against the current and speak up
"Spoke"..
A lot of this seems like how people behaved rather than any official insights (which were backed by evidence). In particular Children under 12 were never expected to get vaccinated and the health departments message indicated the risk of unvaccinated under 12s being severely effected by covid was thought extremely small. I also never saw any official suggestion that transmission was blocked by the vaccine. The suggestion was that the severity of infection would be limited by the vaccine making people less infectious, but officially nothing stronger was ever presented (or tested in trials).
I also was well aware of the few vaccine related myocarditis deaths as these were reported in NZ. It shouldn't be a trade off, buy these would likely have been treated by those people with symptoms after vaccine seeking medical advice. The 'advice' presented by the anti-vaccine groups was not to be aware of the risks but instead to be exposed to the virus unvaccinated, and this always carried higher risk of myocarditis than vaccination.
I gathered that those at risk of myocarditis were also the group unlikely to suffer severe effects from covid .
The govt was strongly encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated.
There were social consequences for those that chose not to , just as there were in the wider population
Personal anecdotes available.
I also remember the struggle for young women to have recognized changes in their menstrual cycles and also their endemetriosis post vaccine.
They were also called anti science and hysterical until it was validated.
We are still learning the effects of covid and the vaccine .
Science is science because scientists are always re evaluating according to new evidence.
Blind faith is not helpful
Those at most risk of myocarditis from the vaccine were younger males from 12 to 17
Those at most risk of myocarditis from covid infection were males over 50.
One group is not the same as the other
None of us were forced to take the vaccine but there was a very strong expectation in the public messaging that we would be selfish and negligent leading to our grannies deaths if we
didnt
Overall
I have no regrets at being fully vaccinated, but I did have some qualms about the messaging
"I gathered that those at risk of myocarditis were also the group unlikely to suffer severe effects from covid ."
I don't think this is relevant (and I assume you mean younger males are at higher risk of this adverse vaccine effect?). As far as I am aware the mechanism for myocarditis is the same in both the vaccine and via infection. This means its a question of risk trade off. All the studies demonstrated reduced risk of adverse effects from covid infection after vaccination in all age cohorts. Even in this age cohort its trading off accepting a larger risk for a significantly smaller risk (which could also be mitigated by decent vaccination follow up).
The only thing I do think that the health department could have done better was to recognise that this vaccine needed to be injected muscularly, and that the standard practice in NZ didn't check that the injection had not directly penetrated a blood vessel (this check can discomfort the patient). The procedure for administration should have been part of the vaccinator training as soon as this was understood and this may have significantly reduced (maybe eliminated) this risk.
"The govt was strongly encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated."
Not U12s as far as I observed. There was a track on the vaccination rate, but every message I saw was very clear that U12s didn't need to be vaccinated for participation in any kind of activity.
Those most at risk of myocarditis from the covid vaccine were young men between 12 and 17.
Those most at risk from myocarditis from covid infection were older men after the age of 50
And the govt was strongly encouraging parents to get their 5-11 year old children vaccinated
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-confirms-covid-19-vaccinations-protect-tamariki
Once again, no one was forced to have the vaccine, but there were strong pressures produced by the public messaging that had social consequences .
I'm pretty sure the science said that people who were vaccinated shed less covid and so were less likely to infect others.
Nobody scientific was saying that covid transmission was "blocked" by having a vaccination.
It is generally accepted that the Jacinda/Ashley approach saved 15-20,000 NZ lives compared with Boris's ham fisted efforts.
The inference was that younger people should be vaccinated to save their grannies .As younger people were less inclined to have severe covid and therefore less inclined to be shedding, the connection between getting vaccinated and saving granny wasn't quite correct .But it served a purpose.
I don't think is quite true. With earlier variants, vaccination helped prevent transmission.
Also, most vaccination works because populations do it. It is inherently an act of solidarity as well as personal protection. The narrative that said we shouldn't vaccinate children to save old people because children shouldn't be expected to help old people by personal sacrifice, is odd to me. But then I think old people are worth saving and I see the benefits to children of both having old people around and of being involved in protecting them. Likewise helping people with health disabilities.
I think the lockdowns did more to prevent transmission .Transmission was never tested for in the vaccine ,but I do remember the puzzlement when people started getting covid two or more times after the vaccine ,.There was uncertainty around it, as in , is this residual from the first infection?Why is this happening ?
It was a setback.Like a lot of things, we were learning as we went, there were no certainties, as in the masking.First absolutely not required, then required in all public places.It took a while before we realised it was transmitted aerially.
I suggest we still have a long way to go.Science is not fixed or settled, we test what we think we know all the time.
I was thinking about this recently too, about how much we didn't know at the start and having to err on the side of caution. People leaving their delivered groceries to sit for three days, hospital staff doing major cleanse routines before going into their home they shared with vulnerable people. It was full on and understandable. Reasonable imo too.
I think there was a lot of confusion and poor comms around different kinds of vaccinations. Probably the health bods assumed people knew that some vaccines don't prevent all instances of a disease, but we really needed clear and persistent explanations about that and we just didn't get them.
Yes lock down was a big part of it. And masks and hygiene etc. We needed all the things. That too was hard for some to get their head around at the time.
The lockdowns were effective at the time, but only with the earlier variants. NZ (and Australia) was fortunate in being able to effectively close its borders and put all entries through quarantine. The same approach would simply not have worked in places like the UK however as they are more connected and by the time this was operational you would have been years of constant lockdowns away from allowing free movement in any country where that was tried. NZ started lockdowns with still a reasonably small number of cases in NZ which is why you could see they had a limited time frame.
By the time NZ was vaccinating delta variant was arriving and due to its higher infection rate NZ quarantine was becoming no longer effective. Omicron was worse again and there was probably a case per day getting through quarantine and infecting people after arriving into NZ.
Heroes of the resistance.
Just kidding.
Will have a think, although a term is still risking implying a hive mind. As I have said before, in regards to those who gathered on Parliament grounds, there was diversity in the motivations for the congregation.
quite. We have the same problem with terms like left and liberal. I don't think that is insurmountable, it's that we just need to develop language for a new political dynamic and cohorts that have arisen.
The most accurate, encompassing and respectful descriptor may be 'people whom I disagree with'.
…on a number of issues, however…
Surely it is way more constructive and beneficial to both parties to seek what there is in common?
And no, not the cohort you mentioned at 5.3, but those who aren't right out on the fringe.
Are those from the "cooker" party 🙂 seeking recognition of that commonality, do you think? Is there anything you can point-to that would illustrate that?
My Nana said it was rude to answer a question with a question.
Surely it is way more constructive and beneficial to both parties to seek what there is in common?
What was your question? You didn't ask one. Surely your Nana would have known that 🙂
Maybe your Nana could have shown you what question marks mean.I understood GSays question and agree with him.I would answer his question with the word yes
It's easy enough to put a question-mark at the end of a sentence that isn't a question.
I read it as a question .Maybe a rhetorical question, but still a question you could give a yes or no answer to.
What was the question?
Please (my Nana encouraged the use of good manners 🙂
The question as I read it was , and this is a paraphrase "Surely its more useful to find common ground ?" GSays not laying down the law, gently enquiring
I'll ask it too
Do we exclude, or do we find common ground?
"Surely" makes it a statement, not a question, but I know what you've taken from the comment, so…it's, imo, wiser to keep your enemies close 🙂 Maintaining lines of communication and a friendly atmosphere is sensible. My question is: are those-who-are-sometimes-referred-to-as-cookers acting in that way? Or are they excluding themselves by communicating at closed meetings, on less-used social media sites etc?
Well when you use such an inexact term as "cooker"you can't with any confidence predict their behavior
We had friends who absolutely were not going to get the vaccine
But they treated our decision with respect, didn't visit us during lockdown and kept in touch via phone
I could never call them cookers or even anti vaxxers .They are our friends and respect our choices.
"cooker" is an "inexact term"?
Can you provide a more exact…term..?
Well I thought I already had by suggesting covid dissidents
And I wouldn’t presume to have any clue about how such a varied group communicates
It would be just as varied as their rationales
The thing is you can't be exact when covering a whole group of people with differing motivations.
You can at least be peaceable and respectful by using a broad term that's not insulting .
"The thing is you can't be exact when covering a whole group of people with differing motivations.
You can at least be peaceable and respectful by using a broad term that's not insulting ."
Indeed.
Can you suggest …a broad term that's not insulting" ?
Really?
I suggested …as you know.. "covid dissidents"to cover that broad group
Thanks Fransesca, more important things came up in my day…
As they do Gsays!!
Id suggest the quantity is irrelevant…and it is also reciprocal.
It's just occurred to me 'cooker' is a thought terminating cliche.
Straight out of the Denton Document. Don't discuss the issue, pillory the messenger.
Words, eh!
Leon Redbone addresses the issue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2dCkF_Nunk
Act voter, springs to mind as a suitable name
(With the radical cookers coalescing around Winston)
I know 3 ,ones was in full p addiction (14 months clean now wohooo) 1 is full libertarian and ones a fear full alternative lovey, hard to get one name for them in all honesty.
we just haven't coined the language yet.
But think about who here might be covered by the term leftie, and the range of beliefs involved.
weka
Bill
Ad
micky savage
Lprent
then
bwaghorn
Robert Guyton
Rosemary McDonald
Adam
Joe90
Anne
Visubversa
etc.
Another suggestion:
SURD – Self-obsessed U-[your choice of adjective] Rationality Denier.
Kind of apt, seeing that "surd" is another term in maths for an irrational number (i.e. one which can't be expressed as a ratio of two whole numbers, such as √5). Lends itself to such expansions as ab-surd, etc.
(If you include the "O" as well from "obsessed" you get SOURD – also rather fitting, as it's French for deaf.)
Please don't use that word as an insult. I am Deaf myself and I do not appreciate that word being used to insult other people whether it is in French or English, thanks.
Fair cop, RoG. That was thoughtless of me. I'd delete that final para if I could (maybe one of the mods could do it for me?).
Thanks!
Nope.
Forecasted costs associated with long covid (PASC) are astronomical and a study showed that vaccination and multiple boosters dramatically lower the risk of long covid (PASC).
Those actively opposing measures that mitigate the impact of covid on the community deserve every pejorative coming their way.
those that actively oppose measures to retain women's sex based rights deserve every pejorative coming their way.
There are plenty of things that the mainstream did to make LC the disaster it is too. Including people here who are agin covid dissidents.
Meanwhile, on TS, that's how flame wars happen and then communities implode. And I'm not going to moderate a bubble of sanctimony.
Except that all of the restrictive measures (apart from facemasks in A&E wards in hospitals) – have been removed. There is no requirement for vaccination, for masking, for social distancing, for limits on gatherings, or any of the other 'Covid restrictions' which happened in 2020 & 2021.
All of those people who resisted those measures (whether passively or actively) then, are indistinguishable from the rest of 'the community', now. They haven't changed their behaviour, we have.
[Yes, Yes, I know there are some people who still mask in public – less than 1 in 500 from my observation – they are the outliers, now]
I have had 6 covid vacs now Bella…oddly few of the pro vaccine people I know have kept up with their vaccines despite knowing full well they should have.
really good point about behaviour change.
Do we know their behaviour hasn't changed? Next time perhaps they will be a little more socially conscious knowing their predicted mass deaths and birth anomalies from the mRNA vaccine haven't eventuated.
My behaviour has changed. I'd not had a flu vaccine until before last winter when I did the double (flu and Covid). I'll probably do this from now on but would have been unlikely to were it not for the pandemic.
"Next time perhaps they will be a little more socially conscious knowing their predicted mass deaths and birth anomalies from the mRNA vaccine haven't eventuated."
Ha! Those who predicted that, believe it more than ever before, thanks to their gullibility, their crack-pot social media feeds and the "obvious cover-up" of "their" whistleblower, doncha know!
"I know there are some people who still mask in public"
Me, for one. And all vaxxes up to date. When you've a disabled partner with at least two co-morbidities, you can't afford to chance it. I've only recently stopped keeping my going-out clothes separate from my indoor ones. But I still sanitise on entering any store, and wash and sanitise after coming home.
Yes. But the point is that you are now the outlier. The rest of the community isn't following any stringent anti-infection protocols.
Suppose we're all outliers in one way or another, desperately wanting to fit in.
If it's any comfort, I've also kept my and my elderly father's and step-father's vaccinations against Covid-19 current, and mask up in crowded indoor spaces such as supermarkets and theatres.
So, we can be outliers taking health precautions together. Those precautions really aren't that much of an inconvenience, and have been effective – so far.
https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2023/12/18/covid-19-over-the-holidays-expert-reaction/
https://covid19.govt.nz/
Well Joe , you better come to this neck of the woods and protest.Covid is absolutely rampant in the area, no one wears masks, there is no campaign up and running for people to keep their vaccines up to date, super spreader events go unrestricted and people are still getting sick and dying of covid
The problem is that the 'them' are not a homogenous group. Their views are often nuanced, and in some cases are worthy of consideration.
The term 'dissident' has been suggested, but dissident generally means someone who opposes official policy. I would suggest that if you consider the totality of the official response towards Covid (including the lock downs and mandates) the 'them' may end up being a hell of a big group!
Nimps – Not In My Personal Space.
Nimps is good and cuts to the heart of the matter; "Get your needle out of MY arm!"
There are many forms of science denial from chemical to biological. They overlap in some places, but not others. It would be hard to find an all encompassing term to cover that sort of range.
completely agree. I just pointed out the problem with referencing Scientific American when calling other people anti-scientific 😈
I'm not asking for a term for anti-scientific people though (whatever that means in this context).
The recently screened Breathless on TV1 was a potent reminder of the chaos in British hospitals when Covid was rampant three plus years ago. That same chaos never happened here due to necessary steps taken by Government and health experts.
However, I will never ever forget the then National opposition screaming "Open the Borders" almost on a daily basis. Only concerned about businesses struggling but no concern for people's health, or pressure on our hospitals. Just as cold and cynical as the last edict "keep smoking kiwis, we want your tobacco taxes".
Important reminder – health/MIQ workers, even our govt, were not out to 'get' us.
And, critically, they largely worked together, unlike in the UK, where the NHS and govt often worked against each other, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic.
Well said, Drowsy.
cubed.
Just as concerning as the widespread infections and the almost unsustainable pressure on the health system was the apparent desire on the authorities' part to hide the true state of affairs and persecute anyone who dared to break the silence.
+100 Reality
If we're banning words, could we also do away with the word woke? If the test is pejorative or not, woke is certainly pejorative.
it's not the only criteria (and it's not a ban), but give me three examples on TS of what you mean and I'll take a look.
Agreed, it's probably not the only test. Others might be whether the word is widely accepted by the mainstream, or has been in use for a long time.
Oddly (or not) the use of the word woke here has reduced since the the departure of Jacinda Ardern…and Redlogix.
woke is a problematic word for a whole bunch of reasons. It's not at the top of my radar of issues in the commentariat on TS.
With very few temporary exceptions, we don’t ban words here on TS as such. We moderate on intentional behaviour that runs counter the site’s Policy and if/when this becomes pattern behaviour, we ban the commenter after one or more warnings depending on the severity of the behaviour.
Ok, I wrote that after reading weka's comment:
I guess people using the word woke can't fall foul of the policy because we're mostly woke lefties and need a good telling off every now and then.
"My thinking rn is to limit its use"
So, not a ban on "cooker" but a use-limit" somehow..?
How might that work?
someone uses the word cooker pejoratively, I ask them to stop, they either do, or they don't and they cop a ban. Usual process and pretty much what I did with terf.
You are missing the point. The use of certain words/language can be trigger points for moderation of intentional behaviour, especially when used in a repetitive habitual manner (i.e. over-used) although it then often tends to lose its original meaning (e.g. misused) and become ‘weaker’ bordering on meaningless and therefore useless (in/for robust debate). As always, it depends on the context and, as always, it depends on sound & fair judgement.
With written communication, as we do here on TS, it’s much harder to interpret meaning and intention than with in-person face-to-face interaction. Some people are more prone to jumping to (right/wrong) conclusions (e.g. if the shoe fits) than others are. Humans and human communication are fascinatingly beautiful and complex (awesome) and are always richer and more diverse than we can imagine (thankfully).
Not true sorry, I was banned for a year for the use of a word. So you may think what you wrote is how you behave and most of the time it is, but the reality is not so wrapped up in a nice little bow. I stand by what I said by the way. And have learnt all the banned words that their are on the standard. You all have fostered the best and most visceral type of censorship – self censorship.
which mod banned you?
this one?
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08-10-2020/#comment-1757390
A 6 month ban because you posted something potentially defamatory and thus put the site owners at legal risk, and then you doubled down and posted it again and had a go at the mods
Not quite being banned for the use of a word is it. I don't remember what the word was, but I'm willing to be it could be used on TS in other contexts and not be a problem.
What you were actually banned for was something else entirely.
actually I can see the original comment in the back end. You accused JK of money laundering for drug cartels. Maybe what you actually meant was that in his previous life in international banking he worked for organisations that turned a blind eye to whose money they were handling, but maybe not, maybe you really meant that FJK personally was knowingly laundering money for drug cartels. Which is defamatory and you can't post things like that on site without evidence.
You could have clarified all that at the time but you didn't.
The thing about TS is that there have been some bad moderations at times. But generally the only content we moderate on is legal risk stuff. The rest is all about behaviour: flaming, trolling, long copypast etc, but mostly wasting moderator time and attacking mods/authors. I don't know what is so hard to understand about this.
case in point. In that same thread, you said,
to which I, who had moderated your defamatory comment, replied,
apologies for telling you to fuck off though.
Nope not that – it was how my expression of my opinion of the US VP which I got banned for a year for. An opinion I stand by, by the way.
Because when people kill your friends sons, you can forgive them – but still think of them as a specific type of scum.
[Again, you fail to back up your accusations with the necessary evidence such as a link to the comment that allegedly resulted in a one-year ban. Weka tried to find it, so I also tried and couldn’t find it either.
So, you have a few days to produce the evidence or I’ll ban you for one year and this time for real – Incognito]
Mod note
My apologies mixed things up. This comment was just censored – it did not get me a ban. Happened around the same time as the 6 month ban (mentioned above by weka) which I thought was a year.
https://thestandard.org.nz/biden-harris/#comment-1740467
Okidoki, apology accepted.
Please do yourself (!) and me a favour and research the difference between censorship and moderation. I’m fed up with accusations of censorship here and will take a hard line from now onwards with anybody who’s stupid enough to go there.
FYI, and a repeat of what I said before in this thread, we moderate mostly on behaviour and particularly patterns of behaviour that run counter to this site’s Policy. The most extreme moderation tool is banning and as such, we ban for behaviour and rarely for words/language only.
Some content might be banned too, e.g., when it is harmful (and we have a low tolerance for violence in any form), defamatory, or puts the site at legal risk and these could be considered as censorship, especially when we also delete the offending parts. However, ideas or ideologies are not banned by default unless it’s the ‘ideology’ of trolling, astroturfing, and/or DP.
Let’s draw a line under this and I hope I will never have to moderate you for this again.
No need to apologies, did not take it personally then, and don't now. You were well within your rights to call it out as you did.
And anyway I was the wanker who started the whole "fuck off" shitfuckery in the first place – So you’re the one who deserves an apology, not me.
So apologies for telling you to fuck off.
In other news, the National/ACT/NZFirst coalition government's record on crime is officially in tatters:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/police-investigate-nearly-double-usual-rate-of-deaths-over-christmas-and-new-years-holiday-season-following-eight-homicides/BHE44G7EN5FL3IRKPOTS5MHRMI/
Not a great environment out there since the election, clearly.
Unfortunatly theyre still in their able to blame the previous govt time window.
Road toll and murders both up under the new government. The numbers don't lie.
Simeon Brown, asleep at the wheel, Mark Mitchell, at the trigger.
Despite the three headed government campaigning on reducing crime and the road toll.
Oh wait, they didn't campaign on reducing the road toll at all so the increase is in line with their policy.
Didn't they campaign on road toll up (higher speed limits), smoking deaths up (we all know about their daft smoking policy), Maori deaths up (Maori Health Authority) murders up (gun policy) sub-standard domestic water deaths up (3 waters)…hell of a policy platform.
And Dr. CigaReti, at the butt.
Hahaha
Having National in power isn't going to fix this so-call malaise that this country is in
Very disturbing article by George Monbiot in Saturday morning's Guardian. Any NZers known to be connected with this Atlas Network?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/06/rishi-sunak-javier-milei-donald-trump-atlas-network
(I’ll repeat this post in tomorrow’s Open Mike, as I don’t think many will find it now in this one.)
Together we can ride the sacred cow of 90's ideology to make a new world order, one capital to rule over all indigenous peoples.
https://liberation.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451d75d69e20134898fa54a970c-500wi
In Greek mythology, Atlas is a Titan condemned to hold up the heavens or sky for eternity.
Ask him a question he cannot answer and if he shrugs … Titan Turkey sandwich, a part fulfillment of Revelation prophecy.
God and mammon – love of imperial coin capitalism.
\_(ツ)_/
What happens if Atlas shrugs?
The billionaire class thinks it is 'Atlas' and by shrugging they abandon all pretence of humanity and bothersome stuff like democracy, tax, or the rule of law.
This myth is supported by a huge propaganda and military machine. But it is a lie. Workers produce the wealth of nations, the 1% are leeches, or the 'vampire squid'.
https://ianwrightsite.wordpress.com/2017/11/16/the-social-architecture-of-capitalism/
One at least, NZ Taxpayers Union. You might want to include this link when you re-post.
https://www.atlasnetwork.org/articles/2023-smart-bets-weekly-highlight-atlas-network-partners-in-lithuania-and-new-zealand