Two insights from Stuff this morning (I don't need to link to the home page do I?):
One is from Steven Joyce, and after translation it basically says "I prepared this rant earlier but had to hastily rewrite it on Saturday evening after the government's response, and that's why it makes no sense". It would save him – and us – time if he was honest and just said "I don't know what they're going to do next but I'm already against it, because that's my job".
The second is from a Covid-19 patient, and after translation it basically says "Joyce has no idea what he's talking about". That one *is* worth reading.
I won't waste my time reading it. The man who was the gNatz wonderboy, but who actually fucked up everything he touched – from the Ministry for Everything to Novapay.
…… about as 'innovative' as a degree in animal buggery
You have to admit that Steven Joyce makes an excellent point about how the PGF could be better spent during a crises like what we are facing. And Liam Danns comment that the government should spend 2.5 billion seems almost miserly.
but 2.5b plus the 2b balance that appears to be left in the PGF would make 4.5b, which is the equivalent of almost 7 weeks of international tourism spending, which would be an amazing start given the travel restrictions
I don't think it's an excellent point at all. On Tuesday the government will announce a major economic package, which will inevitably include support for businesses in the regions, especially those reliant on tourism.
It doesn't matter in the slightest if that is called the Shane Jones Fund or the Totally Different Steven Joyce Fund. It's government cash to save jobs.
What Joyce forgets to say is "this is possible because I was wrong about the 11 billion dollar hole, sorry, my bad".
He also manages to tout his brilliance without once acknowledging that borrowing more is not only an option, but now a short-term necessity. Again, that would require a large helping of humble pie, which Joyce can never stomach.
Why borrow? Because even if every cent was allocated to everything you want, that would be nowhere near enough.
Listen to Wayne on the Covid19 thread:
"I reckon the govt will need around $40 billion in economic stimulus over the next twelve months. Current annual govt receipts are around $100 billion. These will drop to $60 to 80 billion as the economy retracts, but the govt will need to spend at least $120 billion, instead of the planned $100 billion.
It will push up govt debt to around 50 to 60% of GDP.
Who said don’t borrow? You may have assumed that I meant it’s only a binary choice, it isn’t. Borrow freely. Just don’t borrow to protect non-essential or essentially wasteful current spending.
Boris Johnson would appear to be playing Russian roulette with the lives of the vulnerable in the U.K.
The Tory government's plan assumes catching the virus gives you immunity. This is not yet proven (indeed anecdotally not true) and potentially a major flaw in the plan.
As the article below argues, “The human species never developed “herd immunity” to polio or smallpox or any virus, really — ever, despite millennia of death and illness and misery.”
The British government’s Coronavirus strategy, in other words, is founded on the most surreal and astonishing kind of pseudoscience.
They think that everyone getting sick magically confers resistance on a nation. That is not how disease works. Herd immunity is what happens after large-scale vaccination, as a viral infection subsides."
well it would kill the NHS – great for selling this awesome assett
it would kill a whole bunch of old people, invalids, chronic ill people etc etc, also win.
We only have human rights because we give them to us, and when we then consider that others need less rights in order for us to survive, then that is the reaction you get. I would like to point out that Boris Johnson is simply mimicking the Shitface of the US who also would like for people to continue as if there is nothing and if they get ill they should either die quick and silently or heal themselves in their hovels and then go back to work.
The sacrifice of those old who die, and those poor who make capitalism so profitable. Boris is just channeling his Balliol Etonian education, training boys to run both the class order and empire.
And so soon after his gratitude to the north for not trusting in socialist answers.
The thought occurred of a comparison with those societies that had traditions (often just colonial fantasies) of leaving their weak – the old, injured, or feeble babies – to die in the elements for the good of the community, culling the non-producers as it were.
Tory capitalism does that too, and blames the victims for their own demise.
Yes – we have got all the gormless gluttons of the National Party to put up with – but we do not have the everlasting Eccentricity of the English.
Boris Johnson the most absurd leader of the 60 Million English, has ditched Science, has vomited and shat on common sense, and made himself and every member of Merry England a global laughing Stock.
Read this:
Why Britain’s Coronavirus Strategy is Literally One of the Most Insane Things in Modern History.
Boris on Coronavirus – 'Corona' is Latin for Crown, based on the apparent 'crown' of peptid spikes when a spherical virus was viewed through a two dimensional microscope by an excitable microbiologist. Covid19 is more informative.
I urgently needed to come back to NZ for family matters, but now it's impractical for the same reason. There will be millions of similar decisions people will have to make, that will collectively pile up consequences everywhere.
Please read up on what is happening before your "ha ha ha".
Will everyone self-isolate? No. But everyone will be be able to be tracked. The latest patient spells this out very clearly in his story. It worked.
It's the weakest debating point to say not "everyone" wears a seat belt in a car so we shouldn't bother making it compulsory. A rule is introduced, the vast majority follow it, and risk is reduced. You won't get universal compliance outside a dystopian dictatorship, but that's no reason to do nothing.
Thank you but I have been reading and reading and reading for weeks ….
Human nature is the problem. What I am waiting to see now is someone I know is coming home to NZ from the States in about a weeks time. He already has said he will self isolate FOR A WEEK …… Question? Does his wife stock up the house and leave the car at the airport then him home alone for 14 days , because if she doesn't and he gets sick then she too becomes a victim ? Will be interesting to see what happens.
Janet, re your friend……seriously dob him in. Exercise your civic duty if someone is suspected of not obeying isolation rules……they can then be quaranteened.
There are very good guidelines on the MOH Covid 19 website regarding self isolation and living with others……….
I am waiting for some savvy tourist operators to offer self isolation holidays in some of NZ. lovely spots. A stand alone home, with places to walk, swimming pool etc in the middle of nowhere. Food delivered. Wouldn't be too bad.
Janet – there is, no doubt, some existing legislation that would allow for confinement in a prison cell for more than 14 days for those who don't give a stuff about the safety of others.
I have read the advice that others in the house with someone who is self-isolating but not showing signs of illness can go about their ordinary round, but keep a distance, a metre I think, and the person would be expected to mostly stay in their room, have separate bathroom if possible. Separate cutlery, crockery, glasses, cups etc. Surfaces, door handles, light switches, given a damp wipe and dried. Thinking about using tissues to handle CDs, all that would control spots of possible transmission if there was infection.
Good hygiene, hand washing routine, paper towels might be best. Towels haven't been mentioned, but damp hand towels used twice would be good carriers. Separate everything soap, toothpaste, toothbrush for the person, is the expectation for people to behave like sensible and responsible citizens.
I haven't seen this set out in a list, just a general mention. But it would be useful to point to it for those who are living with someone in self-isolation. They shouldn't have to be doing all the instructing.
I'd be concerned about those among the (high risk) elderly … who are self-isolating, few if any savings & living from pension to pension, with little fridge-freezer space.
They won't be able to stock up in a major way … instead they'll need groceries delivered to their door every 2 or 4 weeks … & they'll need to know whether or not to disinfect shopping bags & grocery packaging from contamination (and if so … precisely how)..
Need some methodical, well-organised widely-publicised plan.
True, a properly-protected delivery service (for the drivers as well) would help. Hoping someone in govt other than public health are able to manage this sort of thing – not enough of them.
will be needed but unlikely to eventuate given that the elderly support services are unable to find the staff to provide for the existing cliental…but then i suspect you already know that
The people gloating about being able to fly in before the isolation deadline, so, "they could go straight back to work" seem to be, at best, ignorant, as well.
@Janet (5) … You have obviously missed something. Please go back and read the PM's statement on how the self isolation will be practised and monitored.
Idiots went and bought up all the hand sanitiser they could find. Amazon and eBay shut the door on their profiteering. TradeMe?
Now, while millions of people across the country search in vain for hand sanitizer to protect themselves from the spread of the coronavirus, Mr. Colvin is sitting on 17,700 bottles of the stuff with little idea where to sell them.
Dopey prick thought it was a good idea to tell the world his name. And now he's getting death threats, prank pizza deliveries and people are camped up outside his home.
Who will be the bank to donate a portion of additional funds made from the tap n go feature on credit/eftpos cards during the virus of 2020? There are multiple community charities in serious need that support people in a myriad of ways.
From memory retailers pay $0.80 per transaction where you don't enter your pin to avoid germs and opt to tap instead. They must be swimming in transaction fees with people stocking up.
I think you are exaggerating the fee. I think it is, based on this article, about 1.1% on debit cards. Your number would imply an average transaction of about $90. This is above the maximum amount of $80 for such transactions.
Doesn't mean I approve of the size of the fee mind. I think it is obscene and I have told my bank in writing that I never use the feature and will object to any charge that has not been approved with a pin entry. Don't know how I would get on if one came up mind but I will complain to the Banking Ombudsman if it was to happen.
It is a distinctly Kiwi form of voluntary self-isolation being proposed. Voluntary for those who agree, compulsory for everyone else. Just like school camps really.
Seems we may have a cruise ship with corona virus on board. Seize the ship reassign it to be a dedicated floating corona virus hospital ! It won,t have anything better to do for a while .
Assumed that Janet's idea of turning it into a floating isolation hospital would involve it being taken somewhere where it could dock at a wharf or quayside (like the DiamondPrincess in Japan). All in all a pretty terrible idea …
Yeah. Cruise ships are notorious for disease outbreaks already. Cabins too small, plumbing not ideal for preventing virus spread, same with ventilation systems, and multiple common systems like big kitchens and services that are obvious points of weakness.
And this little nugget from the Guardian. Privatising elective surgery while allowing the NHS to be potentially overrun by coronavirus because social distancing is not being promoted. Great way to use available medical staff and resources.
Fortunately I can see other sectors of the UK just ignoring Boris and getting on with suppressing high risk activities.
“NHS England will this week issue new guidance to hospitals and clinical commissioning groups on working with the private sector to carry out more non-urgent operations on NHS patients to free up beds”.
I must have missed the Democrats regularly speaking of limiting the American people's access to toilet paper. Are they getting big donations from bidet suppliers or something?
Wingnuts made a big thing of running out of toilet paper in Venezuela too. Some sort of toilet-related early childhood deep trauma makes a conservative, perhaps?
My partner and I just cracked up with laughter – whether you are kidding us or actually are doing this the imagination ran away with us. We all need a bloody good laugh in times like this up. Keep up those comments.
The guns are for use on their fellow citizens. If your own philosophy is "Every man for himself and devil take the hindmost," you figure everyone else is thinking the same way so you'll need to protect yourself from those motherfuckers in a crisis. The idea that we might cooperate for the benefit of all rather than immediately collapsing into a wasteland of looters and murderers is foreign to them.
Funny thing is, not even yanks are as bad in real crises as their popculture or gun-hoarding would indicate. Like most people, they tend to cooperate more than beat and rob.
This will certainly test the nimbleness and planning ability of sports administrators.
1. Kudos to the Phoenix for anticipating and planning for having to play remaining games in Oz (in front of no crowds albeit no home semi-final now possible).
2. Super Rugby …
Maybe they should consider bumping up the schedule for the remaining games between home teams and hold those.
3. UK Rugby and Football …
After a break return to completing the 2019-2020 season later in the 2020 calendar year. Consider reducing the 2020-2021 comp into one with one round.
They have gone through the upside down mongrel speech, by which their beloved Idiot, Donald Trump, bypasses anyone in the Globe at any time.
But the Donald is not the real Nitwit. He suffers from a horrendous gulf ball disorder, and has lost any normal brain power. Although he does keep his everlasting Bullying. Possibly other pastimes too.
The real Brainless lot are the Republicans. They don't know sickness from vomit. They don't even know their own names. For they do not Speak.
They are a Virus in upside down action. And have no intention of doing anything for this collapsed United States of America.
Stupidity is all they have. Republicans only ever want Stupidity.
A few thoughts…he's distancing himself and his paymasters from their recent politicising of the government response. He's doing this by collectivising and relabelling it "public" pressure.
My recollection of recent days is that the public haven't said anything much – just a couple of entrepreneurs, one a toymaker, Mowbray, and the other the Trademe guy Sam Morgan.
There's been plenty of media pressure of course but they are in the business of creating controversy in order to sell papers.
I think Farrar and National are happy to see the economy tank as much as possible under Labour's watch – he'll use it closer to election.
For what it's worth I completely empathise with that; it's entirely normal and justified to be at anxious about this.
Two thoughts. People naturally vary in their response to negative events and threat. Some people just shrug it off, others are intensely affected and most people lie on a spectrum between. Don't be disconcerted by others who don't react like you do; sometimes strong fear is useless and paralysing, other times it's informative and drives the correct response. Only with hindsight do we know which people were right.
Don't run away from it, confront it now, find out as much as you can and try to understand what is really happening. Treat it as an interesting opportunity to learn. Get the emotional impact over early, before any potential crisis really hits home, and if and when the virus does hit you'll be much stronger and more likely to deal with it rationally.
Sorry if this sounds a bit bromidey, but I hope it is of some help.
Time to turbo charge the role of unions in the workplace again? At least( even if it is by skype) there would be a freer and more realistic discussion of who is going to suffer and how much they will need instead of an employer driven profit focus. Heaven forbid but places may decide to allocate the funds available for wages rather more equitably so the top end takes the biggest hit – why not?
I'm sure that the Prime Minister was eagerly monitoring the situation and is now greatly relieved that her government's response to this crisis has lately achieved some level of satisfaction from that fucking tool.
And meanwhile the est Dems and MSM liberal media continue to demand that everyone go along with their bizzaro Alice in Wonderland craziness….although it seems plenty of people on TS are happy as pigs in shit to go along with their weird fantasy make believe world, says volumes about how easy it is to corral huge parts of any population..pretty depressing to witness in real time though…
So you're saying potential Sanders voters are easily led by the media? You're so special you can see through it all and not be affected. If only everyone would be like you, though you know what they say when it's everyone else that's crazy and you're the only sane one.
Looking at all the polls, which broadly mirror those in Illinois, it really does, for better or worse, seem like a clear rejection by the voters of Bernie's run.
What are saying? that you seriously don't see that Biden is suffering from some kind of age related cognitive decline?..you don't have to be special to see that obvious truth.. just have eyes that can see and ears that can listen..I assume you are still in possession of those facilities..maybe try using them for a change.
Given that POTUS has their finger on the entire US nuclear arsenal; it seems a pretty big egg to me. And there are plenty of video clips out there showing Biden behaving quite erratically under pressure.
Wouldn't it be ironic if the world came to look back on Trump with a nostalgic fondness ….
Biden's managed to get down to two candidates in the primaries without a dozen sexual assault allegations and stopping a debate to assure the nation his penis is of adequate size.
Jeeze search engines are amazing. Given the left insist there is zero excuse for this sort of thing, the Dems really do have to dump him.
And as low as Trump is, it’s a failure of imagination to think he is the worst humans can be. Rock bottom is a fair bit further down the stack of turtles man.
I'm just saying that a dude who isn't on audio boasting about grabbing women by the pussy is a step up from the current guy, and people seem to be voting for the small step up (in that regard) rather than voting for the nice guy who managed to use his political skills in senate to name a couple of post offices and get a CoL increase for veterans.
I'm just saying that a dude who isn't on audio boasting about grabbing women by the pussy
Correct me if I'm wrong, but have any of the women involved come forward with assault allegations? By contrast we have a number of women making direct allegations of inappropriate behaviour around Biden and the left insists that all women must be believed all the time. Except apparently when Democrat.
The lack of moral consistency is kind of obvious. Personally I've always argued that the sexual interactions between the sexes is complex, nuanced and fraught; this is an arena where we should tread cautiously and with proportionality. But whenever I've openly advocated this, I've been shouted down as a virtual rape apologist.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but have any of the women involved come forward with assault allegations?
You're joking, right? Did you forget it all, or were you not paying attention?
Use your fabled google powers. The extensive list of allegations against the current oaf even has its own wikipedia page. And yeah, it goes well beyond what women have complained about with Biden. I know this doesn't compute for you, you've previously made that very clear.
But hey, Sanders is the better human being. Trouble is, Biden is the better politician and people are voting for him. In a perfect world Sanders would already be president and running for reelection.
Yes there is a solid history of these allegations. I was careless in framing that point. Still the point remains, if the same allegations raised against Biden were made against any Republican, there would be a massive left wing response.
Well, depending on intent he's close to the Al Franken Line, sure.
Does he meet it? Probably not. Should people vote for Sanders instead? Well, probably. But if Sanders can't beat a degenerate senile Cosby-esque fiend like Biden, how the fuck will he beat a fiendishly clever totally healthy and completely nonracist nonsexist non-rapist demigod like dolt45? You can't vaccinate against covid-19 with "I told you so" any more than you can vaccinate against covid-19 with the flu vaccine, no matter what people with a natural talent for science might say.
Quite clearly, I'm saying the voters appear to have made up their minds, and despite your best intentions otherwise, it's almost done for Bernie.
The interesting thing, which you didn't pick up on, is how the media can sway the democratic voters, but not you. Surely if one believes in the message, it doesn't disappear with negative election ads, after all, it hasn't for you, has it?
All that shows, to me, is the Sander's vote from '16 was anti Hilary and not much more. It says heaps about the electorate as a whole they prefer someone with "age related cognitive decline" to the alternative. Politics is always about the numbers, and those landslide opinion polls speak so much louder than your rhetoric.
Given that I strongly supported Sanders in 2016 (against considerable pushback here I might add) … then yes I think that is exactly what KJT must be implying
We all know that well funded, "rightish" campaigns, are not above using psychological techniques from advertising, combined with outright lies, to remain in power.
That doesn't say that people are thick.
It says that the manipulation and propaganda techniques, especially when there is a lot of money to pay for them, are too good.
It would be much better for democracy, if that money was kept out of politics.
It wasn't long ago that the people here, claiming Biden is the result of "well informed" voters, were claiming that the working class voters that voted for Brexit, were manipulated thicko's. Cognitive dissonance, much!
If I said the things I say in here in some counties I could be looking at the inside of a cell before sunrise. Many of us could be. Traitor! Your case will be heard in 2023.
I miss John Clarke, I think we should produce a $17 dollar note in his honour. I think he is our John Lennon. We don't know how lucky we are.
I think money collectors the world over would be intrigued by a limited run official NZ Govt $17 dollar note. A device to embrace the memory of one of our most favorite square pegs in a round hole.
We need to find some creative ways of keeping the overseas dollar flowing…without touching.
– Police began closing off access to the Philippines’ sprawling and densely populated capital of Manila on Sunday, imposing a quarantine that officials hope will curb the nation’s rising number of coronavirus cases.
Officers armed with rifles blocked off main roads into the city of some 12 million as domestic flights to and from Manila were halted early Sunday for a monthlong isolation of the capital.
Mass gatherings and school at all levels have also been called off, but delays and exceptions have led public health experts to question how effective President Rodrigo Duterte’s measures will be.
Good. Now if the WHO had not entirely blown it's credibility the past two months, what I would want to see is a set of standard global rules that enforced a common set of travel rule, social distancing and shut down of non-core economic activity … across the whole planet …. for 3 – 6 weeks.
Get this bastard bug by the throat and throttle it now. Go hard, go early will be the least damaging choice now.
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What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
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Two insights from Stuff this morning (I don't need to link to the home page do I?):
One is from Steven Joyce, and after translation it basically says "I prepared this rant earlier but had to hastily rewrite it on Saturday evening after the government's response, and that's why it makes no sense". It would save him – and us – time if he was honest and just said "I don't know what they're going to do next but I'm already against it, because that's my job".
The second is from a Covid-19 patient, and after translation it basically says "Joyce has no idea what he's talking about". That one *is* worth reading.
I won't waste my time reading it. The man who was the gNatz wonderboy, but who actually fucked up everything he touched – from the Ministry for Everything to Novapay.
…… about as 'innovative' as a degree in animal buggery
Linking to each article is not hard. Which are on the home page changes all the time.
You have to admit that Steven Joyce makes an excellent point about how the PGF could be better spent during a crises like what we are facing. And Liam Danns comment that the government should spend 2.5 billion seems almost miserly.
but 2.5b plus the 2b balance that appears to be left in the PGF would make 4.5b, which is the equivalent of almost 7 weeks of international tourism spending, which would be an amazing start given the travel restrictions
I don't think it's an excellent point at all. On Tuesday the government will announce a major economic package, which will inevitably include support for businesses in the regions, especially those reliant on tourism.
It doesn't matter in the slightest if that is called the Shane Jones Fund or the Totally Different Steven Joyce Fund. It's government cash to save jobs.
What Joyce forgets to say is "this is possible because I was wrong about the 11 billion dollar hole, sorry, my bad".
He also manages to tout his brilliance without once acknowledging that borrowing more is not only an option, but now a short-term necessity. Again, that would require a large helping of humble pie, which Joyce can never stomach.
Blah blah blah My names observer and I don’t like Steven Joyce so he can’t be right about anything.
Infantile bullshit
why borrow when useless spending can be reallocated?
Why borrow? Because even if every cent was allocated to everything you want, that would be nowhere near enough.
Listen to Wayne on the Covid19 thread:
"I reckon the govt will need around $40 billion in economic stimulus over the next twelve months. Current annual govt receipts are around $100 billion. These will drop to $60 to 80 billion as the economy retracts, but the govt will need to spend at least $120 billion, instead of the planned $100 billion.
It will push up govt debt to around 50 to 60% of GDP.
But there is no choice."
Who said don’t borrow? You may have assumed that I meant it’s only a binary choice, it isn’t. Borrow freely. Just don’t borrow to protect non-essential or essentially wasteful current spending.
It's great that you are keeping an eye and advising on this observer. It's beyond some people's IQ limit to comprehend.
Really? Just like Joyce, I don’t think you’re any good with bigly numbers.
You’re right, I overestimated the spend of international tourists.
4.5b would account for 13.6 weeks of lost international tourist spending. Which makes it even better value for money.
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/immigration-and-tourism/tourism-research-and-data/tourism-data-releases/tourism-and-the-economy/
Which takes us close to the peak of the expected pandemic in NZ and provides for the whole country and not just NZ1’s favourite provinces
Thank goodness for a sane government like ours.
Meanwhile in the UK….
Boris Johnson would appear to be playing Russian roulette with the lives of the vulnerable in the U.K.
The Tory government's plan assumes catching the virus gives you immunity. This is not yet proven (indeed anecdotally not true) and potentially a major flaw in the plan.
As the article below argues, “The human species never developed “herd immunity” to polio or smallpox or any virus, really — ever, despite millennia of death and illness and misery.”
The British government’s Coronavirus strategy, in other words, is founded on the most surreal and astonishing kind of pseudoscience.
They think that everyone getting sick magically confers resistance on a nation. That is not how disease works. Herd immunity is what happens after large-scale vaccination, as a viral infection subsides."
https://eand.co/why-britains-coronavirus-strategy-is-literally-one-of-the-most-insane-things-in-modern-history-45c755f1db2d
well it would kill the NHS – great for selling this awesome assett
it would kill a whole bunch of old people, invalids, chronic ill people etc etc, also win.
We only have human rights because we give them to us, and when we then consider that others need less rights in order for us to survive, then that is the reaction you get. I would like to point out that Boris Johnson is simply mimicking the Shitface of the US who also would like for people to continue as if there is nothing and if they get ill they should either die quick and silently or heal themselves in their hovels and then go back to work.
Do keep up.
https://twitter.com/Professor9000/status/1237124223036018688
The sacrifice of those old who die, and those poor who make capitalism so profitable. Boris is just channeling his Balliol Etonian education, training boys to run both the class order and empire.
And so soon after his gratitude to the north for not trusting in socialist answers.
Heh.
The thought occurred of a comparison with those societies that had traditions (often just colonial fantasies) of leaving their weak – the old, injured, or feeble babies – to die in the elements for the good of the community, culling the non-producers as it were.
Tory capitalism does that too, and blames the victims for their own demise.
We don't know how Lucky we are !
Yes – we have got all the gormless gluttons of the National Party to put up with – but we do not have the everlasting Eccentricity of the English.
Boris Johnson the most absurd leader of the 60 Million English, has ditched Science, has vomited and shat on common sense, and made himself and every member of Merry England a global laughing Stock.
Read this:
Why Britain’s Coronavirus Strategy is Literally One of the Most Insane Things in Modern History.
See: Ed – above!
The same writer explains why America’s response to coronavirus is s.o abysmal.
And the answer in one word.
Capitalism.
https://eand.co/why-is-americas-response-to-coronavirus-so-abysmal-beda56829aa8
Indeed, it was a superb comment from Ed.
The official advice from the NHS/government in the UK doesn't quite match Ed's link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
Seems some take Boris' idiotic riffing as official policy.
The danger of believing mischievous edits and random posts on the internet.
Perhaps get actual transcripts of what people are saying and/or go to the official government health site for info.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/uk-news/boris-johnsons-coronavirus-speech-full-17915183
Boris on Coronavirus – 'Corona' is Latin for Crown, based on the apparent 'crown' of peptid spikes when a spherical virus was viewed through a two dimensional microscope by an excitable microbiologist. Covid19 is more informative.
https://www.conservativehome.com/frontpage/2020/03/newslinks-for-saturday-14th-march-2020.html
So you think everyone arriving in NZ from tonight onwards is going self – isolate for 14 days ….. Ha Ha Ha
How , within the family home , in a hotel , in a hut in the forest ?
Perhaps utilise this method from Israel ?
'Israel to Track Coronavirus Patients' Phones as Cases Spike to 193'
ttps://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/coronavirus-cases-in-israel-spike-to-164-nearly-2-500-medical-officials-quarantined-1.8671075
I've had to cancel an overseas trip as it would have meant going somewhere, spending 2 weeks in a hotel room, then coming home again.
I urgently needed to come back to NZ for family matters, but now it's impractical for the same reason. There will be millions of similar decisions people will have to make, that will collectively pile up consequences everywhere.
Please read up on what is happening before your "ha ha ha".
Will everyone self-isolate? No. But everyone will be be able to be tracked. The latest patient spells this out very clearly in his story. It worked.
It's the weakest debating point to say not "everyone" wears a seat belt in a car so we shouldn't bother making it compulsory. A rule is introduced, the vast majority follow it, and risk is reduced. You won't get universal compliance outside a dystopian dictatorship, but that's no reason to do nothing.
Thank you but I have been reading and reading and reading for weeks ….
Human nature is the problem. What I am waiting to see now is someone I know is coming home to NZ from the States in about a weeks time. He already has said he will self isolate FOR A WEEK …… Question? Does his wife stock up the house and leave the car at the airport then him home alone for 14 days , because if she doesn't and he gets sick then she too becomes a victim ? Will be interesting to see what happens.
Janet, re your friend……seriously dob him in. Exercise your civic duty if someone is suspected of not obeying isolation rules……they can then be quaranteened.
There are very good guidelines on the MOH Covid 19 website regarding self isolation and living with others……….
I am waiting for some savvy tourist operators to offer self isolation holidays in some of NZ. lovely spots. A stand alone home, with places to walk, swimming pool etc in the middle of nowhere. Food delivered. Wouldn't be too bad.
Janet – there is, no doubt, some existing legislation that would allow for confinement in a prison cell for more than 14 days for those who don't give a stuff about the safety of others.
I have read the advice that others in the house with someone who is self-isolating but not showing signs of illness can go about their ordinary round, but keep a distance, a metre I think, and the person would be expected to mostly stay in their room, have separate bathroom if possible. Separate cutlery, crockery, glasses, cups etc. Surfaces, door handles, light switches, given a damp wipe and dried. Thinking about using tissues to handle CDs, all that would control spots of possible transmission if there was infection.
Good hygiene, hand washing routine, paper towels might be best. Towels haven't been mentioned, but damp hand towels used twice would be good carriers. Separate everything soap, toothpaste, toothbrush for the person, is the expectation for people to behave like sensible and responsible citizens.
I haven't seen this set out in a list, just a general mention. But it would be useful to point to it for those who are living with someone in self-isolation. They shouldn't have to be doing all the instructing.
Ten thousand people have already managed to self-isolate in NZ.
And there's always the big stick.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/notifiable-diseases/summary-infectious-disease-management-under-health-act-1956
Will not help people to do it though. Many forms of support are needed.
I'd be concerned about those among the (high risk) elderly … who are self-isolating, few if any savings & living from pension to pension, with little fridge-freezer space.
They won't be able to stock up in a major way … instead they'll need groceries delivered to their door every 2 or 4 weeks … & they'll need to know whether or not to disinfect shopping bags & grocery packaging from contamination (and if so … precisely how)..
Need some methodical, well-organised widely-publicised plan.
True, a properly-protected delivery service (for the drivers as well) would help. Hoping someone in govt other than public health are able to manage this sort of thing – not enough of them.
will be needed but unlikely to eventuate given that the elderly support services are unable to find the staff to provide for the existing cliental…but then i suspect you already know that
Although the dickhead who got sick and flew here before he got the (positive) test results should be done for something like criminal nuisance.
Yeah.
The people gloating about being able to fly in before the isolation deadline, so, "they could go straight back to work" seem to be, at best, ignorant, as well.
Best excuse to go sailing, ever!
But wash your hands after touching mainsheet and tiller!
@Janet (5) … You have obviously missed something. Please go back and read the PM's statement on how the self isolation will be practised and monitored.
Idiots went and bought up all the hand sanitiser they could find. Amazon and eBay shut the door on their profiteering. TradeMe?
Now, while millions of people across the country search in vain for hand sanitizer to protect themselves from the spread of the coronavirus, Mr. Colvin is sitting on 17,700 bottles of the stuff with little idea where to sell them.
http://archive.li/v1DKw
Easy solution is to get their own website and drive traffic using Google search. Take money through Stripe. They are in the US so plenty of options.
I think his choice of t shirt self advertising is instructive – Family Man, Family Business. So USA!
This lovely entrepreneur tells us he is doing a public service for which he is being paid. What a Communally Heroic Underestimated Male Person.
Dopey prick thought it was a good idea to tell the world his name. And now he's getting death threats, prank pizza deliveries and people are camped up outside his home.
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2020/mar/14/hixson-man-hopes-donating-hand-sanitizer-death-threats/518204/
Contrast with Asiyah and Jawad, who're dishing out sanitary bits and bobs to their elderly customers.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/coronavirus-face-masks-hand-gel-scotland-uk-outbreak-a9397781.html
CHUMP indeed. Well said there 🙂
Who will be the bank to donate a portion of additional funds made from the tap n go feature on credit/eftpos cards during the virus of 2020? There are multiple community charities in serious need that support people in a myriad of ways.
From memory retailers pay $0.80 per transaction where you don't enter your pin to avoid germs and opt to tap instead. They must be swimming in transaction fees with people stocking up.
I think you are exaggerating the fee. I think it is, based on this article, about 1.1% on debit cards. Your number would imply an average transaction of about $90. This is above the maximum amount of $80 for such transactions.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/10/07/846601/banks-on-notice-over-no-paywave-dysfunction-1
Doesn't mean I approve of the size of the fee mind. I think it is obscene and I have told my bank in writing that I never use the feature and will object to any charge that has not been approved with a pin entry. Don't know how I would get on if one came up mind but I will complain to the Banking Ombudsman if it was to happen.
Correction. Average transaction would have ti be about $73. That is less than the maximum of $80 but not by much.
Thick finger problem with the divide and multiply keys on a calculator.
In the USA, people are going round buying up all the hand sanitizers they can find and selling it on Ebay/Amazon at extortionate prices.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage
Fair enough. I have it on good authority we're put on planet earth to make as much money as we can.
When things calm down those who've made a bundle in that scheme can be honoured at the White House.
Don't they have soap over there?
It is a distinctly Kiwi form of voluntary self-isolation being proposed. Voluntary for those who agree, compulsory for everyone else. Just like school camps really.
What's this about a racehorse called Coronavirus ?
It sounds like a mean critter ..
Seems we may have a cruise ship with corona virus on board. Seize the ship reassign it to be a dedicated floating corona virus hospital ! It won,t have anything better to do for a while .
Coronavirus isolation on a cruise ship in port. What could possibly go wrong?
It's at anchor. No alongside berths for cruise ships in Akaroa.
Assumed that Janet's idea of turning it into a floating isolation hospital would involve it being taken somewhere where it could dock at a wharf or quayside (like the Diamond Princess in Japan). All in all a pretty terrible idea …
Yeah. Cruise ships are notorious for disease outbreaks already. Cabins too small, plumbing not ideal for preventing virus spread, same with ventilation systems, and multiple common systems like big kitchens and services that are obvious points of weakness.
Almost as bad as aircraft.
Maybe the government could exchange health services for lease of a cruise ship for the homeless.
Japanese tried that. Worth a go, big mistake.
And this little nugget from the Guardian. Privatising elective surgery while allowing the NHS to be potentially overrun by coronavirus because social distancing is not being promoted. Great way to use available medical staff and resources.
Fortunately I can see other sectors of the UK just ignoring Boris and getting on with suppressing high risk activities.
“NHS England will this week issue new guidance to hospitals and clinical commissioning groups on working with the private sector to carry out more non-urgent operations on NHS patients to free up beds”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/14/coronavirus-nhs-private-hospitals-join-forces-academics-warn-over-strategy
Janet, our fantastic early acting PM ensured that none of those people were allowed to dis embark last night. Isn’t that/she good.
Say your pwayers, wiwuss!
https://twitter.com/cjjohnsonjr/status/1238868541689880576
Crisis do bring out both the best and worst in people. As this event progresses expect weird and upsetting things happen.
Skyped with a friend in LA this AM. The shelves at his local supermarket are empty.
Another mate in Ostrava, Czech Republic, said there's panic buying going on, mostly non-perishable foodstuffs. But not toilet paper, yet.
I can't get my head around this toilet paper thing. Seems so non-sensical.
Lubbock TX' s Mr. Conservative has it all worked out.
https://www.facebook.com/donald.r.may/posts/10220151655794578
I must have missed the Democrats regularly speaking of limiting the American people's access to toilet paper. Are they getting big donations from bidet suppliers or something?
Wingnuts made a big thing of running out of toilet paper in Venezuela too. Some sort of toilet-related early childhood deep trauma makes a conservative, perhaps?
Yes. When our base assessment is, "We're in the shit", or "Oh shit!", toilet paper is front and centre .
Ahhh! That explains it all. Toilet paper, guns, and ammo.
Not like the old days …
"In days of old,
when knights were bold
And paper not invented
They wiped their A***
Along the grass
And walked away contented."
Now days the knights are not so bold.
Macro @ (14.1.1.1.1.2) … Way to go.
I just use the garden hose and a leaf blower.
For what?
Fireblade
My partner and I just cracked up with laughter – whether you are kidding us or actually are doing this the imagination ran away with us. We all need a bloody good laugh in times like this up. Keep up those comments.
Fireblade @(14.1.1.1.2) … Love it. That’s's an idea we might all have to resort to. Be great for the environment too.
Don't like the leaf blowing bit though. 😯
Oooo – the Czechs seem to be doing it right, then. Sensible panic, not stoopid panik.
Gezz! WTF! They must be amazing telescopic sights to be able to detect a virus.
They are gonna shoot down any invading foreign virus they see? Right?
The guns are for use on their fellow citizens. If your own philosophy is "Every man for himself and devil take the hindmost," you figure everyone else is thinking the same way so you'll need to protect yourself from those motherfuckers in a crisis. The idea that we might cooperate for the benefit of all rather than immediately collapsing into a wasteland of looters and murderers is foreign to them.
Well yes I suspected as much. But you know in a crisis there is always hope.
And in the USA, hope and heavily-armed conservatives!
Funny thing is, not even yanks are as bad in real crises as their popculture or gun-hoarding would indicate. Like most people, they tend to cooperate more than beat and rob.
Unfortunately. It only takes a few.
I wonder how many of the queuers are exposing themselves to infection as they queue.
If you've got a big stack of toilet paper, you're sure as hell going to defend it. Seems logical.
They're losing it.
https://twitter.com/RebeccaBrandArt/status/1239004294457643013
#PanicShopping
Vegans will inherit the earth. Coz they're the only ones that will still be able to buy food.
https://slate.com/business/2020/03/coronavirus-groceries-supermarket.html
Oh, and pork. Nobody wants pork. Fuck knows why.
Yo wut – is there cheap pork? Count me in for some of that.
From the photo and what you've told us of your consumption habits, there's prob'ly only enough for a day or two.
My God, this self-isolation thing is looking more and more like a recipe for future PTSD.
If they welded you in.
https://twitter.com/Solomonnorred/status/1238577428160811008
The government should not be able to weld you into your own home
I could totally never have guessed that this might at some point become something that needed pointing out.
oh dear
https://twitter.com/COSportsNut/status/1238957487396552704
Note the spacings between people. Are all gun-toters that anti-social, or have they been listening at least in part to the advice?
Me, I sits in the gunfighter's corner of the bar-room where I git to see everyone, and no-one gits ahind of me, far away from the spittoon…..
This will certainly test the nimbleness and planning ability of sports administrators.
1. Kudos to the Phoenix for anticipating and planning for having to play remaining games in Oz (in front of no crowds albeit no home semi-final now possible).
2. Super Rugby …
Maybe they should consider bumping up the schedule for the remaining games between home teams and hold those.
3. UK Rugby and Football …
After a break return to completing the 2019-2020 season later in the 2020 calendar year. Consider reducing the 2020-2021 comp into one with one round.
The Republicans are silent
They have gone through the upside down mongrel speech, by which their beloved Idiot, Donald Trump, bypasses anyone in the Globe at any time.
But the Donald is not the real Nitwit. He suffers from a horrendous gulf ball disorder, and has lost any normal brain power. Although he does keep his everlasting Bullying. Possibly other pastimes too.
The real Brainless lot are the Republicans. They don't know sickness from vomit. They don't even know their own names. For they do not Speak.
They are a Virus in upside down action. And have no intention of doing anything for this collapsed United States of America.
Stupidity is all they have. Republicans only ever want Stupidity.
Farrar watch:
A few thoughts…he's distancing himself and his paymasters from their recent politicising of the government response. He's doing this by collectivising and relabelling it "public" pressure.
My recollection of recent days is that the public haven't said anything much – just a couple of entrepreneurs, one a toymaker, Mowbray, and the other the Trademe guy Sam Morgan.
There's been plenty of media pressure of course but they are in the business of creating controversy in order to sell papers.
I think Farrar and National are happy to see the economy tank as much as possible under Labour's watch – he'll use it closer to election.
The virus situation is getting scary. We are fortunate to live in NZ right now, but I'm very anxious and frightened to be honest.
Please take care everyone.
For what it's worth I completely empathise with that; it's entirely normal and justified to be at anxious about this.
Two thoughts. People naturally vary in their response to negative events and threat. Some people just shrug it off, others are intensely affected and most people lie on a spectrum between. Don't be disconcerted by others who don't react like you do; sometimes strong fear is useless and paralysing, other times it's informative and drives the correct response. Only with hindsight do we know which people were right.
Don't run away from it, confront it now, find out as much as you can and try to understand what is really happening. Treat it as an interesting opportunity to learn. Get the emotional impact over early, before any potential crisis really hits home, and if and when the virus does hit you'll be much stronger and more likely to deal with it rationally.
Sorry if this sounds a bit bromidey, but I hope it is of some help.
Cheers
Thanks for your comments RedLogix.
Newshub has an article about anxiety and mental health issues associated with Covid-19.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/fear-of-coronavirus-putting-pressure-on-mental-health-services.html
Time to turbo charge the role of unions in the workplace again? At least( even if it is by skype) there would be a freer and more realistic discussion of who is going to suffer and how much they will need instead of an employer driven profit focus. Heaven forbid but places may decide to allocate the funds available for wages rather more equitably so the top end takes the biggest hit – why not?
David Farrar: "’Im much more satisfied with the Government’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic than I was a week ago."
I
d
i
o
t.
I'm sure that the Prime Minister was eagerly monitoring the situation and is now greatly relieved that her government's response to this crisis has lately achieved some level of satisfaction from that fucking tool.
And meanwhile the est Dems and MSM liberal media continue to demand that everyone go along with their bizzaro Alice in Wonderland craziness….although it seems plenty of people on TS are happy as pigs in shit to go along with their weird fantasy make believe world, says volumes about how easy it is to corral huge parts of any population..pretty depressing to witness in real time though…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxhsV_6dWVs
So you're saying potential Sanders voters are easily led by the media? You're so special you can see through it all and not be affected. If only everyone would be like you, though you know what they say when it's everyone else that's crazy and you're the only sane one.
Looking at all the polls, which broadly mirror those in Illinois, it really does, for better or worse, seem like a clear rejection by the voters of Bernie's run.
From real clear politics.
Illinois Democratic Primary:
Emerson – Biden 57, Sanders 36, Biden +21
Gravis – Biden 63, Sanders 25, Biden +38
What are saying? that you seriously don't see that Biden is suffering from some kind of age related cognitive decline?..you don't have to be special to see that obvious truth.. just have eyes that can see and ears that can listen..I assume you are still in possession of those facilities..maybe try using them for a change.
You have to be pretty special to make that the biggest egg in your omlette.
Even if it were anything other than the cognitive bias of the left's equivalent of the Ancient Mariner, voters do seem to prefer to vote for Biden.
biggest egg in your omlette.
Given that POTUS has their finger on the entire US nuclear arsenal; it seems a pretty big egg to me. And there are plenty of video clips out there showing Biden behaving quite erratically under pressure.
Wouldn't it be ironic if the world came to look back on Trump with a nostalgic fondness ….
Biden's managed to get down to two candidates in the primaries without a dozen sexual assault allegations and stopping a debate to assure the nation his penis is of adequate size.
When you hit rock bottom, everywhere is up.
Jeeze search engines are amazing. Given the left insist there is zero excuse for this sort of thing, the Dems really do have to dump him.
And as low as Trump is, it’s a failure of imagination to think he is the worst humans can be. Rock bottom is a fair bit further down the stack of turtles man.
I'm sure there can be worse people than dolt45. They'd have to make a massive effort, though. And Biden ain't anywhere close.
Not in sexual assault allegations, not in "erratic behaviour", and not in gross incompetence. .
So unlike a whole bunch of other accused men I can think of, you're giving Biden a free pass on the sexual allegations because … Democrat?
Who says free pass?
I'm just saying that a dude who isn't on audio boasting about grabbing women by the pussy is a step up from the current guy, and people seem to be voting for the small step up (in that regard) rather than voting for the nice guy who managed to use his political skills in senate to name a couple of post offices and get a CoL increase for veterans.
I'm just saying that a dude who isn't on audio boasting about grabbing women by the pussy
Correct me if I'm wrong, but have any of the women involved come forward with assault allegations? By contrast we have a number of women making direct allegations of inappropriate behaviour around Biden and the left insists that all women must be believed all the time. Except apparently when Democrat.
The lack of moral consistency is kind of obvious. Personally I've always argued that the sexual interactions between the sexes is complex, nuanced and fraught; this is an arena where we should tread cautiously and with proportionality. But whenever I've openly advocated this, I've been shouted down as a virtual rape apologist.
You're joking, right? Did you forget it all, or were you not paying attention?
Use your fabled google powers. The extensive list of allegations against the current oaf even has its own wikipedia page. And yeah, it goes well beyond what women have complained about with Biden. I know this doesn't compute for you, you've previously made that very clear.
But hey, Sanders is the better human being. Trouble is, Biden is the better politician and people are voting for him. In a perfect world Sanders would already be president and running for reelection.
Yes there is a solid history of these allegations. I was careless in framing that point. Still the point remains, if the same allegations raised against Biden were made against any Republican, there would be a massive left wing response.
Well, depending on intent he's close to the Al Franken Line, sure.
Does he meet it? Probably not. Should people vote for Sanders instead? Well, probably. But if Sanders can't beat a degenerate senile Cosby-esque fiend like Biden, how the fuck will he beat a fiendishly clever totally healthy and completely nonracist nonsexist non-rapist demigod like dolt45? You can't vaccinate against covid-19 with "I told you so" any more than you can vaccinate against covid-19 with the flu vaccine, no matter what people with a natural talent for science might say.
And by some number if you look at the recent polling data.
Quite clearly, I'm saying the voters appear to have made up their minds, and despite your best intentions otherwise, it's almost done for Bernie.
The interesting thing, which you didn't pick up on, is how the media can sway the democratic voters, but not you. Surely if one believes in the message, it doesn't disappear with negative election ads, after all, it hasn't for you, has it?
All that shows, to me, is the Sander's vote from '16 was anti Hilary and not much more. It says heaps about the electorate as a whole they prefer someone with "age related cognitive decline" to the alternative. Politics is always about the numbers, and those landslide opinion polls speak so much louder than your rhetoric.
Yeah. The unrelenting propaganda against Sanders has no effect, of course.
But then you and Thornton haven't fallen for it, have you? So are you saying those who voted Bernie in 2016 are thick and easily led?
Given that I strongly supported Sanders in 2016 (against considerable pushback here I might add) … then yes I think that is exactly what KJT must be implying
We all know that well funded, "rightish" campaigns, are not above using psychological techniques from advertising, combined with outright lies, to remain in power.
That doesn't say that people are thick.
It says that the manipulation and propaganda techniques, especially when there is a lot of money to pay for them, are too good.
It would be much better for democracy, if that money was kept out of politics.
It wasn't long ago that the people here, claiming Biden is the result of "well informed" voters, were claiming that the working class voters that voted for Brexit, were manipulated thicko's. Cognitive dissonance, much!
They call Sanders a commie, and they call Biden doolally. Meh.
I'm not going along with anything, not being a yanker and all.
If I said the things I say in here in some counties I could be looking at the inside of a cell before sunrise. Many of us could be. Traitor! Your case will be heard in 2023.
I miss John Clarke, I think we should produce a $17 dollar note in his honour. I think he is our John Lennon. We don't know how lucky we are.
I think money collectors the world over would be intrigued by a limited run official NZ Govt $17 dollar note. A device to embrace the memory of one of our most favorite square pegs in a round hole.
We need to find some creative ways of keeping the overseas dollar flowing…without touching.
gangster state
https://twitter.com/briantylercohen/status/1238991144505053186
Getting real.
– Police began closing off access to the Philippines’ sprawling and densely populated capital of Manila on Sunday, imposing a quarantine that officials hope will curb the nation’s rising number of coronavirus cases.
Officers armed with rifles blocked off main roads into the city of some 12 million as domestic flights to and from Manila were halted early Sunday for a monthlong isolation of the capital.
Mass gatherings and school at all levels have also been called off, but delays and exceptions have led public health experts to question how effective President Rodrigo Duterte’s measures will be.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/15/asia-pacific/philippines-manila-coronavirus-infections-doubles/#.Xm3vnHLRWUk
Good. Now if the WHO had not entirely blown it's credibility the past two months, what I would want to see is a set of standard global rules that enforced a common set of travel rule, social distancing and shut down of non-core economic activity … across the whole planet …. for 3 – 6 weeks.
Get this bastard bug by the throat and throttle it now. Go hard, go early will be the least damaging choice now.