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.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
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Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
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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!![smiley smiley](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png)
@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) …![laugh laugh](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/teeth_smile.png)
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.![wink wink](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png)
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
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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 ….![devil devil](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/devil_smile.png)
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![cheeky cheeky](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/tongue_smile.png)
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.