There's still a strange reluctance to officially designate non-compliant folk Class B citizens. However the two-classes thing is now globalising:
Bruno Courcelle said he was not overly involved in politics before the pandemic — now the 72-year-old mathematics lecturer is a regular at demonstrations against the vaccine, lockdowns and other Covid control measures.
His stance has left him at odds with family, friends and colleagues. Speaking to CNN before Christmas, Courcelle was preparing for an uncomfortable festive family dinner.
"The rest of my family got vaccinated," he said, adding that he has had several arguments with relatives who fail to understand why he has joined the ranks of the anti-vaccination protesters.
"My wife said 'Please, do not say anything [at the table],'" he said. "I will not start such a discussion myself … [but] I will not stay silent letting leftists say their stupid things."
Binary division of societies is an ancient phenomenon, traditionally equating left with wrong and right with right, ruled vs rulers, and built into the structure of democracy as govt vs opposition. You can even cite it as natural, deriving from cell division.
Two years on, and with opinions becoming more entrenched by the day, some experts fear it may be too late to bridge the divide between the authorities and those who have become vociferously opposed to vaccination measures.
France's President Macron appears to have moved on from appealing to the refuseniks' sense of solidarity — instead he's now hoping to annoy reluctant French citizens into getting their shots by requiring proof of vaccination for access to a range of everyday activities.
Apartheid is a good model, eh? Harassment morphs into persecution at what point?
definitely something we should be sorting out sooner rather than later. And, this was happening before the mandates. Before the pandemic. It's just that we didn't care as much when it was only being done to beneficiaries or poor people.
The mandates are a new thing, I don't like the way they were done even though they were probably a necessary evil to get the vax rates high. In an ideal world we'd learn from that and put considerable effort into reducing the main drivers of marginalisation (poverty, colonisation) but the majority of NZ wants what Labour does, so we will have to adapt around that.
Robert G pointed out the other day that some people choosing to not vaccinate were finding creative ways to make their lives good. This is what I see in the people I know too. Not everyone, but it's a definite choice in how to respond. I see the potential for a lot of creative work to be done by this arising counter culture that is quite different than the ones aligning with Qanon etc. I also think it's the kind of response we need going into a climate/eco crisis world: being able to work creatively with restriction will be a highly valued skill as more and more people lose their security and the stability they normally rely on.
Not that that is new either, but I think we should be talking about it in proactive terms. I have a foot in both camps, being vaccinated and being ok with vaccination as a personal choice and keeping good relationships with people who have chosen not to rather than ostracising them. I listen to their concerns and often agree with them or understand them even though I disagree.
The liberals on twitter running round posting about which shops to boycott because they put up welcome everyone signs worry me more than the creative, non-complying counter culture. I worry there is a degree of fragility there that won't do well in the coming years.
The ones of course to really worry about are those without the resources (of all kinds) to manage a creative response to restriction. This is Labour's great failing in not addressing poverty and benefits in the past four years. This is obviously unfair on those people and will come back to bite us.
Like you, I've a foot in both camps & concur with your overview. Ardern's kindness needs to kick in a little more, perhaps. The danger with these divides arises when they are allowed to harden, polarising everyone more fervently. Labour probably feels that the vaccination rate measures the dissidents as a small minority who can be safely marginalised. I'm not so sure that their complacency is sensible.
Difficult situation last year, because being kind of non-vaccinating people would have undermined the fast uptake of vaccination. But I can't help but feel that alongside her personal conviction that everyone should want to vaccinate, she was actually ok with the marginalising because of her values not just the pragmatics of the situation.
But then, isn't this also what underlies Labour's inaction on benefits? People need incentives to go to work, right? Labour will create jobs, and people need to be coerced to take them.
People finding "creative ways" to get around necessary and sensible responses to a pandemic, are probably what will doom us to overwhelmed health systems and preventable deaths.
Unfortunately not just of those who refuse to do the equivalent of wearing seatbelts and lifejackets, but like the USA, others who can't get the healthcare they need, because hospitals are full of people who should be politely described as, fools.
People finding "creative ways" to get around necessary and sensible responses to a pandemic, are probably what will doom us to overwhelmed health systems and preventable deaths.
What does that mean? They're not finding creative ways to 'get around' public health measures, they made the entirely legal decision to not vax and are finding out how to adapt to the mandates.
Do you want the state to force them to be vaccinated.
I"ll throw your question back at you weka, do you want the state to force the vaccinated to pay for the unvaccinated's health care? time for all of the smart-arse fence-sitters here to fess up. I spent four months last year waiting for an operation, while the hospital kept beds sitting empty for possible covid sufferers. statistics show that most covid sufferers who end in hospital ARENT vaccinated. so, if you chose freedumb, and dont get vaccinated, go stand at the end of the longest line for healthcare.
Your hospital wait cannot definitively be laid at the door of the pandemic. There were pre-existing systemic failures before 2019.
You ire against the as yet unmanifested overwhelmed ICU units, should be diluted by the depreciated health system, the failure to take advantage of our successful elimination hiatus to forward plan, and despite the success of the vaccination messaging – no follow up messging as that is achieved and parameters change.
the people I was talking about, the ones finding creative responses, are generally ok with taking other precautions. I know there are hard core anti-vax, or anti-covid response people as well, but that's a different cohort (maybe there are overlaps).
From where I'm sitting the major reasons for the increasing blowbacks are:
When govts did lockdowns back in early 2020 the deal was 'flatten the curve for a few weeks or a month or so' – almost 2 years later and there is no end in sight. All these ‘temporary’ restrictions on travel, association and small businesses seem to have no end date contemplated.
The vaccines themselves turned out to be not very safe and not very effective. While at the same time many non-vaccine early treatments have been uniformly rejected by authorities – which is a medical nonsense.
While this doesn't mean the vaccines had zero utility, they certainly have not been the path out of this pandemic as originally promised. Instead govts are now demanding – against WHO advice as it happens – booster shots forever.
And here's the extraordinary thing – all this has been driven from within the powerful ranks of Big Pharma and it's captured regulatory agencies, particularly the US. Yet remarkably almost no-one pauses to look back with fresh eyes and scratch their heads over the opioid crisis in the USA and prevalence of iatrogenic disease worldwide.
Think about it this is the same medical profession that at the direct behest of a pharmaceutical company with a dodgy record – conspired for years to push a dangerous and lethal drug onto their patients by the millions. Resulting in death toll, often of young people with much life ahead of them, and a wicked suffering that continues today. Or that the medical profession’s own mistakes and errors are frequently reported as the fourth or even third leading cause of death. And this is not even scratching the surface.
But now we're required, coerced even, into following every dictate this highly questionable industry imposes on us – or get shamefully relegated to Class B citizens.
I'm triple-vaccinated against covid. That's due to comprehending the logic & track record of vaccination long ago & getting a grasp of the ecosystemic nature of immune systems in more recent decades.
However I agree we ought not to become overly dependent on artificial aids. The monetary incentives driving big pharma into coercing govt decisions are definitely a factor to keep in mind, so I agree with your point there.
booster shots forever
Will have to become optional – like flu shots – and I suspect this year govts will have to proclaim that officially (rather than the current tacit tolerance).
Likewise, with regard to your first two points, I'd like to see our govt stop lagging behind. They ought to be up the front of the learning curve, just behind the fast learners. I've got no problem with experts pushing the medical party line in the media but I get the feeling that the time for such zealotry is past…
That's due to comprehending the logic & track record of vaccination long ago
For people of our age there is a reasonable benefit to being vaccinated as I am as well. Just as for example when I was working in Latin America I was happy to take the Yellow Fever vaccine, because I was going to an at risk location. And I always had the option of not taking it and doing the quarantine thing on my return to Australia.
But this mass vax campaign being effectively coerced onto everyone, regardless of risk profile makes no sense. And especially not when the vaccines are not preventing transmission. We only have to look at the current situation in both Israel and Australia – the former the most highly vaccinated country on earth, to see the stark undeniable truth of this.
I too have had a foot in both camps, I was willing to give the vaccines a go and see how they worked out. Well it's a year later and I'm underwhelmed.
The comparison right in front of you, between NZ where effective public health responses combined with high vaccination rates, has almost eliminated Delta, again, with the States of Australia, that had increased rates of infection even before Omicron, shows you are talking nonsence.
It's reasonable to think of a population in three broad categories; people who are immune, people who will catch it but will recover quickly and gain an immunity, and those who are vulnerable to serious illness or worse. The first two categories constitute a large majority.
Over and again we see in many countries with relatively low vaccination rates waves of variants pass through, rising and declining pretty much regardless of public health policy. What we are not seeing is any variant run away exponentially consuming all before it. This can only be due to a much maligned herd immunity being generated relatively sooner than is being acknowledged by authorities.
And untangling this from the impact of the vaccines is a non-trivial data analysis task that I'd not rush to judgement on.
Again nonsence. I’ve first hand information from people that are there, of the disasters that continue in low vaccination rate US States. Anyone who wants that here, is an idiot.
In NZ, The "large majority" have sensibly voted with their feet, and got vaccinated, wear masks and follow public health measures.
Because, like wearing a lifejacket, you can't say if you will be the one that needs it.
A small and very vocal "minority" have persuaded themselves, against the evidence that they know better.
Coastguard rescue those sorts on the Manukau bar, regularly.
"After accounting for the vaccination rates and stratifying by age groups, from these same data we can see that the vaccines retain high effectiveness (85-95%) vs. severe disease, showing that when it comes to preventing severe disease, the Pfizer vaccine is still performing very well vs. Delta, even in Israel from whence the most concerning data have arisen".
RedLogix: You say, "….. regardless of risk profile makes no sense.". How do you imagine risk profile would be measured? Otherwise, until the successful NZ strategy falls apart, why would the country change what it is doing because of the failures of Israel and Australia. Don't know about Israel, apart from the fact that it is selectively vaccinating only one demographic but the Aussies are as slack as …… when it comes to dealing with Covid.
Of course, if you have particular expertise, in public health strategies, tell MOH how to strategise risk profile analysis. I'm sure your knowledge would be appreciated.
"The third barrier is Rose’s Prevention Paradox: for a lot of diseases, most of the cases don’t happen in high-risk people. There are people at very high risk of heart attack (what Rose was interested in), but they account for a relatively small fraction of all heart attacks. "
RedLogix: It seems the experts may know more than you do about tailoring public health policy. Of course, if you are able to confirm that the 75% of hospitalized cases between the ages of 20 and 60 fit your profiles, then you may have a point. As a further observation, it seems the 15% over 60 doesn't overwhelmingly support your criteria either.
Red-the WHO's main objection to booster shots is because their use in the rich countries means that there will not be sufficient vaccine supply available for third world countries in the near future (see the article below).
It is widely accepted that a third booster shot will help significantly to protect against Omicron. I did read somewhere that a fourth shot (2 boosters) was ineffective though.
Unlike many people here I'm not prone to dissing a link just because I don't like it – so you're safe from me on that front.
But here's the rub, it's now very clear that these vaccines have a pretty short window on effective usefulness. Somewhere between 2 – 6 months per shot seems to be the range. You really have to start considering the cost benefit trade offs here.
WHO are effectively saying the benefits of mass boosting everyone in the developed world are not great enough to justify denying the basics to those in the developing world. There must be hundreds of millions of vulnerable people in poorer nations who should be well ahead of the queue in front of healthy relatively low risk people in NZ.
Bruno Courcelle shows where the real problem lies when he prepares to sit at the Christmas table stating, "I will not stay silent letting leftists say their stupid things."
Hopefully he dined well at Christmas with only those who are right about everything in attendance – himself.
I’m with you Bruno. He lost me with his diatribe on leftists. Possibly he’d like to reflect on the political movement that provided him with his maths degree and his subsequent employment without having to pay the headmaster 20k for his job. However, if he really wants crazy he should join the slobbering baying hounds over on Kiwiblog.
Did the British PM break the law? Or was it just rule-breaking performed by underlings on the basis that a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse?
Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer accused Johnson of breaking the law, and of lying to parliament when first challenged about the reports of parties. He said the public could no longer take the prime minister seriously when it came to the pandemic response.
The British Conservative Party chairman rejected calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign but said he must address the culture within his government that resulted in multiple staff gatherings at his residence during coronavirus lockdowns.
Addressing political culture ought to be a load of fun & I do hope Boris takes his chairman's advice & has a go at it. We need all the entertainment we can get.
Dowden said: "I'm very hopeful and optimistic but clearly, we will await the data at the point of the decision before making that final decision."
With an attitude like that, the chairman has a glorious future in front of him should be ever decide to become a bureaucrat. Meanwhile, the civil servant tasked with unearthing the data will be involved in calculating how many years it will take…
Opportunity to become monarch of your own island in Britain, right now!
Applicants can now apply for a 10-year lease to run the pub and manage the island, which features a ruined 14th Century castle and a campsite. Barrow Borough Council said the person would be "crowned" by having alcohol poured over their head.
On its tourism website: "One of the most enduring aspects of the Ship Inn is the tradition of the king and knights of Piel. The tradition holds that each new landlord is crowned King of Piel in a ceremony of uncertain origin, in which they sit in an ancient chair, wearing a helmet and holding a sword while alcohol is poured over their head. By the 19th Century it had become an important aspect of the island's history to such an extent that responsibility for looking after the helmet and chair fell within the tenancy agreement."
We will need to do all we can to help Tonga through this disaster and probably for quite a while. Meanwhile prepare for two or three very cold years much like 1992/3 after Pinatubo and this could be worse as it is very much in our hemisphere.
I saw the "Opportunity to become monarch of your own island in Britain, right now!" and thought it'd be a great idea to throw Brian Tamaki's way. An island where he could be King and ruler, saviour and saint and whatever else he wanted to be. I checked it out and it seems a bit small though. There isn't enough space to have hundreds and thousands to be employed earning money to give him. Or enough roading for lots of motor bikes.
He and his lot want their own laws and rules and his own kingdom would seem to be the best way to achieve that.
Sitting at my local vaccination centre, having just had my booster. Busy as cause first days for kids. We were booked so able to skip the queue. But a big queue with people all masked up.
efficient, well run. Congratulations and thanks to all the health workers involved
Brian Tamaki now claiming to be a political prisoner having been arrested for yet another breach of bail? What a load of drivel. How many stern warnings from the Judiciary does it take to penetrate his thick hide? If he ends up being remanded in custody this time, it is the consequence of his Quixotic self-promotional acts of contempt of Court, not victimisation for his political actions.
I suspect the police were also giving him plenty of rope to hang himself with.
I was one of those who was annoyed with them for seemingly letting him him off the hook. I was wrong. They knew he was going to breach his bail conditions again and they would be in a better position to throw the book at him which they are now doing.
yeah, the four percent of anti-vaxxers could overthrow the gov AND the 96% of vaxxed kiwis. really blade, you need to sharpen up if you are going to troll.or did you learn maths at the same school as joyce ,goldsmith etc?
It takes a relatively small group to upset the parliamentary conventions and disrupt what little democracy still exists within our governing systems. It didn't take 4% of Americans to make the Capitol riot, and, had they been only slightly better supported, they might have slain a considerable number of Democrats.
the percentage of disaffected anti-gov americans (with guns, and little education) is waaay higher than here. do you think a few noisy farmers and some destiny church bootboys are going to storm the beehive? nah. fun fact. I was at a bbq just before christmas and watched some anti-vaxxer protesters have a bitchfight with some groundswiller protesters, both then had a moan about “their” protests for freedom(?)being taken over by density church bootboys. hah! it has the makings of a good mocumentary film. throw in a few loonies waving nazi and trump flags for extra chuckles.
I'm not sure the disaffected are much lower here than in the US – our suicide rate at least tends to suggest that all is far from well. But we don't really have that culture that grew out of stories like True Grit, of taking firearms against a sea of troubles to by opposing end them.
So yes, an NZ version of occupying parliament would likely be more comedy than tragedy – but it would only take one or two deculturated persons in a mob, to turn it ugly, and to do irreparable damage.
These astroturfers are rubbish – but our homeless – a large and rising fraction, should occupy that building. They've got to sleep somewhere, and displacing the clowns that unhomed them is as close to economic justice as we're likely to see in my lifetime.
I don't think poor Woodart gets it, Stuart. If he stopped trolling me and thought things through he might realise the good Bishop doesn't only attract anti vaxxers. He also attracts people with a variety of gripes against the government. And that could keep growing with him as a focal point.
Just like the government/police didn't decide to go ahead with road blocks, I get the impression they didn't want to arrest Tamaki, but had no choice given his intransigence.
It must be remembered an attempt to storm the
Beehive in the early 2000s was talked down by Maori elders( not only Maori were involve). The guy leading the group was army trained.
It's a puzzle, this dealing with incitement. Previous generations, the Watersiders for instance, would have been read the riot act, and required to disperse. Some of the antivaxxers at least have been encouraged by the clemency of the police response thus far.
I think that for the moment we must call the police response a win, they have avoided escalating the protests by fruitless confrontation. But we are only a loon or a fool away from that response being tested, and generating harm, publicity, and a backlash.
Woodart is a fellow of good character, which makes it harder for him to imagine the darker places of the human heart. I was on a Russian boat that mutinied once (the Bratya Stoyanovy) – I have seen crowds on the point of turning nasty. It is… memorable.
Ah, the mob mentality or group instability principle. All of a sudden a myriad of individuals become one with one intent. Sweet reason is hopeless against a mob that has literally lost their minds.
That said we can be thankful Kiwis are a weird mob. We are too laidback (lazy?) to mount some Yanky style insurrection. I mean we would need smoko breaks, set times for a haka and karakia…and we would have to knock off at 5pm each day for a good feed and a sleep. As you say…a comedy.
Got my first booster shot a few days ago. No problems with it.
just got a text asking me if I had any side effects from the vaccine, answered NO but it makes you wonder are they trying to get a more accurate number of those with side effects?
Are they trying to get a more accurate number of those with side effects? Probably. Why? because they want to know what's happening. And because the information will be needed for when Chris Bishop foolishly tries to make some point and claim.
24 hours after I started to feel a little rough, cold, tired, shakey and a cracking forehead/sinus nut ache. The usual bot protocol, paracetamol/decongestant, lots to drink and hit the sack with a couple of hotties to sleep it off. Good as next morning. My SO was the same but it took a full two days to recover.
A couple of hours after the first I felt a little off for a bit and the second knocked me around. All listed side effects so nothing out of the ordinary.
You bet. It's a wonder Shadbolt hasn't already taken credit for it!
The resource consent application would allow the data centre to consume up to 150 megawatts of power, which is more than a quarter of the power currently used by Southland’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
Good news, that. Will employ a few dozen people – wonder how many will be foreign imports? No mention of robots but don't rule out the possibility that they'll hire Ruth Richardson to do pr!
I presume a sunset clause. Strategy would be to go online when Rio Tinto pulls out. Any earlier, supply & demand would kick in, get the market a-flutter, get power prices shooting up, and Labour honchos looking angrily at each other saying "Who the hell got us into this neoliberal mess anyway??"
Tiwai will have competition for the power they use now, so the price will go up. And that will probably be the end of Tiwai.
Then we might see the hydrogen thing happen. Along with a lot more wind generation and a downstream industrial cluster.
You might end up with a green steel mill, and maybe carbon negative cement produced in Southland
The fuel side of hydrogen is probably a tad overblown, but when you look at it as an industrial feedstock resulting in industries that are currently huge producers of CO2 becoming carbon zero then it all makes more sense.
The words in the link made me start. "Land bought for 1 billion". Then I read the whole story and found that that was the cost of the whole project. From the numbers quoted in the story it might have been about $2 million.
It sounds like a great idea. I particularly liked the bit that the cold climate there would reduce the cost of power to cool the facility. I believe that is a major reason why Iceland is in favour for this sort of place.
[you were banned (until 11th Feb), and while I’m not quite sure how you’re navigating your way around it, for every future comment you make, your ban will be extended by one month] – B
Tricledrown didn't navigate around the ban. They weren't told there was a ban nor for how long. Nor where they given a warning.
The issue is in the backend. It's grossly unfair to blame and punish a commenter who doesn't know they were banned for moderation mistakes that were completely outside of their control. Let alone for how long.
? I don't know what you're on about. I haven't extended the ban. And tricledrown was notified in just the same way as above in the original comment. Granted, I originally forgot to mention the time scale, but that's been rectified 😉
TD often doesn't go back and reread their comments, so it is very unlikely he saw your original note. That's why we mostly reply to a comment letting people know there is a mod note.
TD often doesn't even read replies, this has been discussed in the back end recently, I assume you knew because you referred to RL's warning.
Afaik this ban was never loaded into the ban list. You can check that but I looked on the day and it wasn't there.
There is minimal information in the Moderation list about what is going on.
As far as I can see no formal warning of a ban was given of what the problem was with the comments. We use bold to give warnings for a reason (and reply saying there is a mod note). This is why some people perceive the moderations as OTT and unfair. They come out of nowhere and people don't have the chance to change their behaviour.
Yes, you forgot to give a timeframe and now you've just threatened TD for commenting sooner than a timeframe which was never publicly notified and they couldn't have known about even if they had seen the moderation. An apology is in order there.
To Weka at6.1, my iPad won’t let me answer to posts directly. Quite cold probably, more than 1+ degree below normal for two years at least, like Pinatubo served up in 1992/3 after eruption in June 91, but may be worse as that was in the Northern Hemisphere. Expect lots of late and early frosts, ( spring/autumn ) big snow falls, 100s of thousands of sheep killed in 92 in very big snowfalls. But before there are global cooling celebrations, millions of tonnes of all sorts of shit we don’t want have been injected in to the upper atmosphere which will stay around for a long time. It may also depend on the makeup of the ejection materials, Pinatubo seeded very fine super heated silica which became glass like and resulted in gorgeous pearl coloured skies but kept the sun out for two summers.
Now 1 degree less doesn’t sound like much but a down to -14 degree frost killed almost 90% of the young olive trees in Marlborough in the spring which pretty much killed off the industry. We may get away with out effects now for a few weeks or so but when you see those skies a lot of agriculture will be buggered, from avocados to tomatoes and every thing in between and big losses to almost all farming industries.
Heres hoping almost all of that big cloud is just steam, but somehow I don’t think so.
I would like to link the NZ 1992 and 3 weather stats but it’s either me or this shitty iPad that won’t do it, probably me.
My heart goes out to all the 5 through 12 year olds today who are now going to be 'delivered up' to pointless but "safe and effective" injections by parents and guardians who've been misled and sunk in fear by over two years of 'official narrative' nonsense.
I wonder what all the gatekeepers, and those who have been anxious to censor and smear in order to shut down intelligent conversation and debate are going to say when the side effects of those injections emerge into the public awareness?
The links here are 'interesting' to say the least.
Germany is coming off the back of a Delta wave, and hospital admissions, ventilated patients and deaths are dropping even as Omicron infections soar.
The UK has a small uptick in admissions and confirmed deaths as Omicron infections now plummet.
There are charts for Israel and Spain too. The point being that hospitalisations, deaths and ventilated patients, depending what one of those three you look at, at worst barely register 50% of what was seen in the original wave of Covid.
ourworldindata reckons that shows the effectiveness of vaccines, even though there are skyrocketing infection rates, and are silent on Omicron being less aggressive or the fact that the vulnerable oldest demographics who account for the overwhelming majority of deaths have been (sorry for the term) harvested by previous waves.
And yet, here we are in NZ stuffing an experimental injectable into the arms of kids who face somewhere between 5/8ths of fuck all, and fuck all risk from infection.
On a side note. The CEO of OneAmerica (an insurance company) is reporting a 40% increase in non-covid deaths in the under 60s through the 3rd and 4th quarter. I guess that might be longer term effects of covid, or the aftermath of people not being seen for conditions because of Covid restrictions, or….well, the medium/long term effects of injection. Maybe there's a possible fourth explanation.
Humans aren't very good at getting that far. Most go for the easiest explanation (low-hanging fruit). Discerning folk will go for #2, the likeliest explanation. Those capable of cogniting nuance as well as having discernment will go for explanations arising from complex contexts, #3.
Politicians get elected by majorities, so will reach for #1. Their advisors will point out that it's almost certainly wrong & alert them to reputational consequences. They will gulp, then go for #2. To get it right in complex circumstances they need to go to #3 but neither they nor their advisers know that.
What I take away from him is that yanks are more vulnerable than normal people due to most of them being obese plus their junk food habit means their immune system's working too hard all the time trying to eliminate toxins so the pandemic just tips them over the threshold – causing their bodies to file them in the too hard basket.
Oh, and capitalism is going to cost a lot more to operate. All good…
so, with all your statistics, I dont see any regarding employee absentieism re covid. why not? worried that it might not line up with all your other posts?
I wonder what all the gatekeepers, and those who have been anxious to censor and smear in order to shut down intelligent conversation and debate are going to say when the side effects of those injections emerge into the public awareness?
Maybe they’ll do the honourable thing.
This is an incredible position from someone who can't even talk about long covid, let alone integrate it into their arguments. What's the honorable thing there?
Vaccines have side effects. Covid-19 has direct effects, multiple. The pandemic as a whole has lots of unwanted effects, multiple and compounding. There are no easy answers here. I've yet to see a solid argument against population wide vaccination when comparing those three aspects.
Yeah na fuck you bill, my baby was born during the time that cunt was pushing his autism caused by vaccines lie. , it took me a while to overcome the fear and protect my baby from measles mumps rubella, if any kid suffers from severe covid issues due to your anti vax shit then double fuck you you sad cunt. [I’m really sorry you fell for spurious anti-vaccination propaganda. I’m not anti-vaccination and never have been. That said, the wrongheaded abuse you’re directing at me with its undertones of violence – is way beyond the pale, and beyond what I’m willing to accept as an author on this site. I’m banning you for six months. (17th July)] – B
My heart goes out to all the 5 through 12 year olds today who are now going to be 'delivered up' to pointless but "safe and effective" injections by parents and guardians who've been misled and sunk in fear by over two years of 'official narrative' nonsense.
My heart goes out to all parents and guardians of 5 – 11 year-olds who have the welfare of those children at heart – I'm relieved that it's their decision.
"There is a perception that COVID-19 is only a very mild infection in children," said Prof Dalziel. "However, as the pandemic has progressed, we are seeing greater numbers of children being infected and presenting to hospital worldwide. Unfortunately, for some of these children, COVID-19 results in severe disease."
As Omicron surges, effort to vaccinate young children stalls
[14 January 2022] Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations.
COVID-19 vaccine and children: Information for parents and caregivers Children aged 5 years and over are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. Learn about the effects COVID-19 could have on unvaccinated young people, the effectiveness and safety of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and what to expect during the appointment.
For the best CC use of Tiwai electricity it should stay as an aluminium smelter, closure will mean the shortfall will be filled by a coal powered one in China or India or elsewhere.
My heart went out to the same cohort many years ago when I appreciated they were lining up for MMR shots. And once upon a time a TB shot. Oh no, a prick in the arm.
Those that suffered that are still here, alive and well, engaging in intelligent conversation, debate and action. And getting shots for Covid and welcoming their children and grand children having the chance to do the same. Nothing to do with being the honourable thing to do, just the most sane.
I've heard it said those generations have been driven by 'fear-mongering.'
I remember my high school mates and I lined up outside the sick bay to get our TB shots. Those who'd survived the trauma, the horror, walking back past the ones waiting "Oh God, it's terrible, my arm feels like its going to fall off," and getting round the corner to head for class pissing themselves laughing about the fear.
Now? If covid vaxx were done the same way and the doom merchants were believed we'd have every single kid lined up freaking out that the vaccines was going to kill them. and genuinely believing it.
I'm still trying to work out how the MOH and politicians are fear merchants ruling by fear by having daily updates are the demons yet others who preach "if you have the vaccine you're going to die" and, "it hasn't been researched" are heroes for looking out for public heath.
Firstly, I've precisely zero objection to vaccinations. And these injectables (not vaccinations), although they do not work as advertised and are not safe (no medicine is) do seem to have a role to play in protecting vulnerable people from the more severe consequences of infection.
Secondly, children face next to no risk from Covid. On bar charts of deaths where age range is included, it's basically quite difficult to discern the deaths in the under 40s.
What we have is people lining up to be jabbed, and lining others up to be jabbed, and people losing their jobs and careers because they're not jabbed, and anyone not jabbed being ostracized from society, because government led propaganda has resulted in people freaking out that Covid's going to kill them.
The IFR for under 70 years old is 0.05% ffs! And that lessens as age lowers.
Labour's plan to use kids as a science experiment is probably due to them being unaware that the plan does so. Labour folk have never been much good at integrating the big picture. Historically, they exemplify thinking driven by a syndrome which produced a special type of human called a do-gooder. It also produced the old saying the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Both of these feature in Labour's pandemic strategy.
Looks to me like Ani O'Brien's tweet, that the article is based on, was misleading. As Henare said,
The Defence Minister, when asked on Monday if the post was appropriate, told reporters he was sorry if it caused offence. He said he posted it to encourage his more than 3000 followers to watch a 3pm press conference he was to participate in on Sunday.
"I apologise if my picture offended anyone," he said on Monday, standing next to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a press conference in Auckland.
"What was advertised on that picture too was that I encouraged people to tune in to the 3pm which was where the Prime Minister, myself and minister Sio gave more details and more updates on the situation in Tonga."
It's been removed so I can't see it, but if Henare wrote a post as well as the photo, then AO left out important information.
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
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There's still a strange reluctance to officially designate non-compliant folk Class B citizens. However the two-classes thing is now globalising:
Binary division of societies is an ancient phenomenon, traditionally equating left with wrong and right with right, ruled vs rulers, and built into the structure of democracy as govt vs opposition. You can even cite it as natural, deriving from cell division.
Apartheid is a good model, eh? Harassment morphs into persecution at what point?
definitely something we should be sorting out sooner rather than later. And, this was happening before the mandates. Before the pandemic. It's just that we didn't care as much when it was only being done to beneficiaries or poor people.
The mandates are a new thing, I don't like the way they were done even though they were probably a necessary evil to get the vax rates high. In an ideal world we'd learn from that and put considerable effort into reducing the main drivers of marginalisation (poverty, colonisation) but the majority of NZ wants what Labour does, so we will have to adapt around that.
Robert G pointed out the other day that some people choosing to not vaccinate were finding creative ways to make their lives good. This is what I see in the people I know too. Not everyone, but it's a definite choice in how to respond. I see the potential for a lot of creative work to be done by this arising counter culture that is quite different than the ones aligning with Qanon etc. I also think it's the kind of response we need going into a climate/eco crisis world: being able to work creatively with restriction will be a highly valued skill as more and more people lose their security and the stability they normally rely on.
Not that that is new either, but I think we should be talking about it in proactive terms. I have a foot in both camps, being vaccinated and being ok with vaccination as a personal choice and keeping good relationships with people who have chosen not to rather than ostracising them. I listen to their concerns and often agree with them or understand them even though I disagree.
The liberals on twitter running round posting about which shops to boycott because they put up welcome everyone signs worry me more than the creative, non-complying counter culture. I worry there is a degree of fragility there that won't do well in the coming years.
The ones of course to really worry about are those without the resources (of all kinds) to manage a creative response to restriction. This is Labour's great failing in not addressing poverty and benefits in the past four years. This is obviously unfair on those people and will come back to bite us.
Like you, I've a foot in both camps & concur with your overview. Ardern's kindness needs to kick in a little more, perhaps. The danger with these divides arises when they are allowed to harden, polarising everyone more fervently. Labour probably feels that the vaccination rate measures the dissidents as a small minority who can be safely marginalised. I'm not so sure that their complacency is sensible.
I don't think it's sensible either.
Difficult situation last year, because being kind of non-vaccinating people would have undermined the fast uptake of vaccination. But I can't help but feel that alongside her personal conviction that everyone should want to vaccinate, she was actually ok with the marginalising because of her values not just the pragmatics of the situation.
But then, isn't this also what underlies Labour's inaction on benefits? People need incentives to go to work, right? Labour will create jobs, and people need to be coerced to take them.
People finding "creative ways" to get around necessary and sensible responses to a pandemic, are probably what will doom us to overwhelmed health systems and preventable deaths.
Unfortunately not just of those who refuse to do the equivalent of wearing seatbelts and lifejackets, but like the USA, others who can't get the healthcare they need, because hospitals are full of people who should be politely described as, fools.
What does that mean? They're not finding creative ways to 'get around' public health measures, they made the entirely legal decision to not vax and are finding out how to adapt to the mandates.
Do you want the state to force them to be vaccinated.
I"ll throw your question back at you weka, do you want the state to force the vaccinated to pay for the unvaccinated's health care? time for all of the smart-arse fence-sitters here to fess up. I spent four months last year waiting for an operation, while the hospital kept beds sitting empty for possible covid sufferers. statistics show that most covid sufferers who end in hospital ARENT vaccinated. so, if you chose freedumb, and dont get vaccinated, go stand at the end of the longest line for healthcare.
Your hospital wait cannot definitively be laid at the door of the pandemic. There were pre-existing systemic failures before 2019.
You ire against the as yet unmanifested overwhelmed ICU units, should be diluted by the depreciated health system, the failure to take advantage of our successful elimination hiatus to forward plan, and despite the success of the vaccination messaging – no follow up messging as that is achieved and parameters change.
If you're willing to tolerate a leftist response to your fascist framing, everyone paying for everyone's healthcare is fine, thanks.
Don't have any problem with the choice not to be vaccinated.
I have a problem with the unvaccinated, inflicting the consequences of their choices on others.
And refusing to accept necessary measures, to stop their choices harming others.
And even more problem with their trying to persuade the credulous, with bs, to go along with their stupidity.
the people I was talking about, the ones finding creative responses, are generally ok with taking other precautions. I know there are hard core anti-vax, or anti-covid response people as well, but that's a different cohort (maybe there are overlaps).
From where I'm sitting the major reasons for the increasing blowbacks are:
And here's the extraordinary thing – all this has been driven from within the powerful ranks of Big Pharma and it's captured regulatory agencies, particularly the US. Yet remarkably almost no-one pauses to look back with fresh eyes and scratch their heads over the opioid crisis in the USA and prevalence of iatrogenic disease worldwide.
Think about it this is the same medical profession that at the direct behest of a pharmaceutical company with a dodgy record – conspired for years to push a dangerous and lethal drug onto their patients by the millions. Resulting in death toll, often of young people with much life ahead of them, and a wicked suffering that continues today. Or that the medical profession’s own mistakes and errors are frequently reported as the fourth or even third leading cause of death. And this is not even scratching the surface.
But now we're required, coerced even, into following every dictate this highly questionable industry imposes on us – or get shamefully relegated to Class B citizens.
I'm triple-vaccinated against covid. That's due to comprehending the logic & track record of vaccination long ago & getting a grasp of the ecosystemic nature of immune systems in more recent decades.
However I agree we ought not to become overly dependent on artificial aids. The monetary incentives driving big pharma into coercing govt decisions are definitely a factor to keep in mind, so I agree with your point there.
booster shots forever
Will have to become optional – like flu shots – and I suspect this year govts will have to proclaim that officially (rather than the current tacit tolerance).
Likewise, with regard to your first two points, I'd like to see our govt stop lagging behind. They ought to be up the front of the learning curve, just behind the fast learners. I've got no problem with experts pushing the medical party line in the media but I get the feeling that the time for such zealotry is past…
That's due to comprehending the logic & track record of vaccination long ago
For people of our age there is a reasonable benefit to being vaccinated as I am as well. Just as for example when I was working in Latin America I was happy to take the Yellow Fever vaccine, because I was going to an at risk location. And I always had the option of not taking it and doing the quarantine thing on my return to Australia.
But this mass vax campaign being effectively coerced onto everyone, regardless of risk profile makes no sense. And especially not when the vaccines are not preventing transmission. We only have to look at the current situation in both Israel and Australia – the former the most highly vaccinated country on earth, to see the stark undeniable truth of this.
I too have had a foot in both camps, I was willing to give the vaccines a go and see how they worked out. Well it's a year later and I'm underwhelmed.
The comparison right in front of you, between NZ where effective public health responses combined with high vaccination rates, has almost eliminated Delta, again, with the States of Australia, that had increased rates of infection even before Omicron, shows you are talking nonsence.
It's reasonable to think of a population in three broad categories; people who are immune, people who will catch it but will recover quickly and gain an immunity, and those who are vulnerable to serious illness or worse. The first two categories constitute a large majority.
Over and again we see in many countries with relatively low vaccination rates waves of variants pass through, rising and declining pretty much regardless of public health policy. What we are not seeing is any variant run away exponentially consuming all before it. This can only be due to a much maligned herd immunity being generated relatively sooner than is being acknowledged by authorities.
And untangling this from the impact of the vaccines is a non-trivial data analysis task that I'd not rush to judgement on.
Again nonsence. I’ve first hand information from people that are there, of the disasters that continue in low vaccination rate US States. Anyone who wants that here, is an idiot.
In NZ, The "large majority" have sensibly voted with their feet, and got vaccinated, wear masks and follow public health measures.
Because, like wearing a lifejacket, you can't say if you will be the one that needs it.
A small and very vocal "minority" have persuaded themselves, against the evidence that they know better.
Coastguard rescue those sorts on the Manukau bar, regularly.
Again an irrelevant waste of pixels.
Israel?
I thought you were knowledgeable on statistics. For example remember, Simpsons paradox?
"https://www.covid-datascience.com/post/israeli-data-how-can-efficacy-vs-severe-disease-be-strong-when-60-of-hospitalized-are-vaccinated"
"After accounting for the vaccination rates and stratifying by age groups, from these same data we can see that the vaccines retain high effectiveness (85-95%) vs. severe disease, showing that when it comes to preventing severe disease, the Pfizer vaccine is still performing very well vs. Delta, even in Israel from whence the most concerning data have arisen".
I was talking about transmission. Your sneering comment is irrelevant to that point.
RedLogix: You say, "….. regardless of risk profile makes no sense.". How do you imagine risk profile would be measured? Otherwise, until the successful NZ strategy falls apart, why would the country change what it is doing because of the failures of Israel and Australia. Don't know about Israel, apart from the fact that it is selectively vaccinating only one demographic but the Aussies are as slack as …… when it comes to dealing with Covid.
Of course, if you have particular expertise, in public health strategies, tell MOH how to strategise risk profile analysis. I'm sure your knowledge would be appreciated.
How do you imagine risk profile would be measured?
By age and co-morbidity. I didn't think this needed elaboration.
Have a read of
Why screening is hard
https://www.statschat.org.nz/2022/01/11/why-screening-is-hard/
"The third barrier is Rose’s Prevention Paradox: for a lot of diseases, most of the cases don’t happen in high-risk people. There are people at very high risk of heart attack (what Rose was interested in), but they account for a relatively small fraction of all heart attacks. "
RedLogix: It seems the experts may know more than you do about tailoring public health policy. Of course, if you are able to confirm that the 75% of hospitalized cases between the ages of 20 and 60 fit your profiles, then you may have a point. As a further observation, it seems the 15% over 60 doesn't overwhelmingly support your criteria either.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-case-demographics
Red-the WHO's main objection to booster shots is because their use in the rich countries means that there will not be sufficient vaccine supply available for third world countries in the near future (see the article below).
It is widely accepted that a third booster shot will help significantly to protect against Omicron. I did read somewhere that a fourth shot (2 boosters) was ineffective though.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10400077/WHO-warns-repeated-booster-shots-not-sustainable.html
[BTW I have not become a closet Daily Mail reader-perish the thought. This was just a convenient link to use.]
Unlike many people here I'm not prone to dissing a link just because I don't like it – so you're safe from me on that front.
But here's the rub, it's now very clear that these vaccines have a pretty short window on effective usefulness. Somewhere between 2 – 6 months per shot seems to be the range. You really have to start considering the cost benefit trade offs here.
WHO are effectively saying the benefits of mass boosting everyone in the developed world are not great enough to justify denying the basics to those in the developing world. There must be hundreds of millions of vulnerable people in poorer nations who should be well ahead of the queue in front of healthy relatively low risk people in NZ.
Vaccine effectiveness drops by percentage points after months.
To around 75%!
It doesn't reduce to zero!
The restrictions on rolling out vaccination to third world countries because of refusals to waive patent rights, is a valid point.
But. Why bother if "vaccination has a very short window of effectiveness s" and "herd immunity is working"? Sic.
Bruno Courcelle shows where the real problem lies when he prepares to sit at the Christmas table stating, "I will not stay silent letting leftists say their stupid things."
Hopefully he dined well at Christmas with only those who are right about everything in attendance – himself.
I’m with you Bruno. He lost me with his diatribe on leftists. Possibly he’d like to reflect on the political movement that provided him with his maths degree and his subsequent employment without having to pay the headmaster 20k for his job. However, if he really wants crazy he should join the slobbering baying hounds over on Kiwiblog.
The fantasy anti-communism of British Toryism is further evidence of the decline of modern conservatism into delusonal crypto-fascism.
Rupert Murdoch will go down in history as the man who destroyed democracy.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10406587/Nadine-Dorries-allies-warn-BBC-days-state-run-television-OVER.html
The Lords want their fief back.
https://twitter.com/DoubleDownNews/status/1481323946943389696
Agreed Sanc-for instance people forget that Blair was wined and dined on Murdoch's yacht before he was elected in 1997.
Rupert's not done it alone, these politicians are easily owned in return for favourable coverage.
Did the British PM break the law? Or was it just rule-breaking performed by underlings on the basis that a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse?
Addressing political culture ought to be a load of fun & I do hope Boris takes his chairman's advice & has a go at it. We need all the entertainment we can get.
With an attitude like that, the chairman has a glorious future in front of him should be ever decide to become a bureaucrat. Meanwhile, the civil servant tasked with unearthing the data will be involved in calculating how many years it will take…
Starmer and Johnson…. entitled twats who like the sound of their own voice.
Opportunity to become monarch of your own island in Britain, right now!
Have a look at those cool pictures! You could renovate the castle too. Don’t need a moat.
We will need to do all we can to help Tonga through this disaster and probably for quite a while. Meanwhile prepare for two or three very cold years much like 1992/3 after Pinatubo and this could be worse as it is very much in our hemisphere.
how cold?
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/04/science/northeast-s-strange-weather-don-t-blame-it-all-on-the-volcano.html
I saw the "Opportunity to become monarch of your own island in Britain, right now!" and thought it'd be a great idea to throw Brian Tamaki's way. An island where he could be King and ruler, saviour and saint and whatever else he wanted to be. I checked it out and it seems a bit small though. There isn't enough space to have hundreds and thousands to be employed earning money to give him. Or enough roading for lots of motor bikes.
He and his lot want their own laws and rules and his own kingdom would seem to be the best way to achieve that.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-destiny-churchs-brian-tamaki-arrested-for-protest-bail-breach/2OTAM3LPBYQN2PFMWFB6ZHMIDM/
Wow. The police actually arrested him.
This will be interesting.
efficient, well run. Congratulations and thanks to all the health workers involved
Get your booster.
https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1482501951065661440
Thanks Joe 90 for some responsible facts.
It looks identical to NSW's experience.
And New Zealands vaccination figures pertaining to Delta.
Brian Tamaki now claiming to be a political prisoner having been arrested for yet another breach of bail? What a load of drivel. How many stern warnings from the Judiciary does it take to penetrate his thick hide? If he ends up being remanded in custody this time, it is the consequence of his Quixotic self-promotional acts of contempt of Court, not victimisation for his political actions.
I note how aggressively his minions kept the media away from his unauthorized public gathering so they couldn't record it.
About time as he's been taking the piss.
I suspect the police were also giving him plenty of rope to hang himself with.
I was one of those who was annoyed with them for seemingly letting him him off the hook. I was wrong. They knew he was going to breach his bail conditions again and they would be in a better position to throw the book at him which they are now doing.
His PR strategy is coming along well. This type of genesis can lead to things getting out of hand big time. The government should be careful.
yeah, the four percent of anti-vaxxers could overthrow the gov AND the 96% of vaxxed kiwis. really blade, you need to sharpen up if you are going to troll.or did you learn maths at the same school as joyce ,goldsmith etc?
It takes a relatively small group to upset the parliamentary conventions and disrupt what little democracy still exists within our governing systems. It didn't take 4% of Americans to make the Capitol riot, and, had they been only slightly better supported, they might have slain a considerable number of Democrats.
the percentage of disaffected anti-gov americans (with guns, and little education) is waaay higher than here. do you think a few noisy farmers and some destiny church bootboys are going to storm the beehive? nah. fun fact. I was at a bbq just before christmas and watched some anti-vaxxer protesters have a bitchfight with some groundswiller protesters, both then had a moan about “their” protests for freedom(?)being taken over by density church bootboys. hah! it has the makings of a good mocumentary film. throw in a few loonies waving nazi and trump flags for extra chuckles.
I'm not sure the disaffected are much lower here than in the US – our suicide rate at least tends to suggest that all is far from well. But we don't really have that culture that grew out of stories like True Grit, of taking firearms against a sea of troubles to by opposing end them.
So yes, an NZ version of occupying parliament would likely be more comedy than tragedy – but it would only take one or two deculturated persons in a mob, to turn it ugly, and to do irreparable damage.
These astroturfers are rubbish – but our homeless – a large and rising fraction, should occupy that building. They've got to sleep somewhere, and displacing the clowns that unhomed them is as close to economic justice as we're likely to see in my lifetime.
I don't think poor Woodart gets it, Stuart. If he stopped trolling me and thought things through he might realise the good Bishop doesn't only attract anti vaxxers. He also attracts people with a variety of gripes against the government. And that could keep growing with him as a focal point.
Just like the government/police didn't decide to go ahead with road blocks, I get the impression they didn't want to arrest Tamaki, but had no choice given his intransigence.
It must be remembered an attempt to storm the
Beehive in the early 2000s was talked down by Maori elders( not only Maori were involve). The guy leading the group was army trained.
It's a puzzle, this dealing with incitement. Previous generations, the Watersiders for instance, would have been read the riot act, and required to disperse. Some of the antivaxxers at least have been encouraged by the clemency of the police response thus far.
I think that for the moment we must call the police response a win, they have avoided escalating the protests by fruitless confrontation. But we are only a loon or a fool away from that response being tested, and generating harm, publicity, and a backlash.
Woodart is a fellow of good character, which makes it harder for him to imagine the darker places of the human heart. I was on a Russian boat that mutinied once (the Bratya Stoyanovy) – I have seen crowds on the point of turning nasty. It is… memorable.
Ah, the mob mentality or group instability principle. All of a sudden a myriad of individuals become one with one intent. Sweet reason is hopeless against a mob that has literally lost their minds.
That said we can be thankful Kiwis are a weird mob. We are too laidback (lazy?) to mount some Yanky style insurrection. I mean we would need smoko breaks, set times for a haka and karakia…and we would have to knock off at 5pm each day for a good feed and a sleep. As you say…a comedy.
But there's always that chance…
How fitting, Tamaki was remanded in custody by Judge Evangelos Thomas.
The Bishop put away by an Evangelist.
that would be checkmate . hah!
Got my first booster shot a few days ago. No problems with it.
just got a text asking me if I had any side effects from the vaccine, answered NO but it makes you wonder are they trying to get a more accurate number of those with side effects?
Are they trying to get a more accurate number of those with side effects? Probably. Why? because they want to know what's happening. And because the information will be needed for when Chris Bishop foolishly tries to make some point and claim.
had a bit of an owie on my arm for about a day, that was it.
I think we have a pretty good idea already.
The proportion of vaccination causing side effects is not difficult to quantity.
The anti vaccers recording every sneeze after the vaccine, is actually helpful in that regard.
Quantifying the proportion of vaccination caused and coincidental side effects.
24 hours after I started to feel a little rough, cold, tired, shakey and a cracking forehead/sinus nut ache. The usual bot protocol, paracetamol/decongestant, lots to drink and hit the sack with a couple of hotties to sleep it off. Good as next morning. My SO was the same but it took a full two days to recover.
Are you describing the side effects of the vaccine?
Sounds like the symptoms and treatment for someone…. infected.
A couple of hours after the first I felt a little off for a bit and the second knocked me around. All listed side effects so nothing out of the ordinary.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-vaccine-side-effects-and-reactions
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127020332/land-bought-for-1-billion-bid-to-turn-southland-into-global-it-hub#comments
Thats some good news for Southland, if it comes to fruition.
You bet. It's a wonder Shadbolt hasn't already taken credit for it!
Good news, that. Will employ a few dozen people – wonder how many will be foreign imports? No mention of robots but don't rule out the possibility that they'll hire Ruth Richardson to do pr!
'but don't rule out the possibility that they'll hire Ruth Richardson to do pr!'
Its an intriguing offer however being that I'm happily married I'll have to decline
Aw, nothing wrong with feminism. Be staunch!
Where do you think they expect to get all that electricity from?
Rio Tinto's still at Tiwai.
I presume a sunset clause. Strategy would be to go online when Rio Tinto pulls out. Any earlier, supply & demand would kick in, get the market a-flutter, get power prices shooting up, and Labour honchos looking angrily at each other saying "Who the hell got us into this neoliberal mess anyway??"
Tiwai will have competition for the power they use now, so the price will go up. And that will probably be the end of Tiwai.
Then we might see the hydrogen thing happen. Along with a lot more wind generation and a downstream industrial cluster.
You might end up with a green steel mill, and maybe carbon negative cement produced in Southland
Yay! A steel mill!
And a cement factory!
Great news for Southland!
I think hydrogen-for-fuel is a pipe-dream.
But it sure is exciting, eh!
Humans gonna human, best hope science can cleanup after us..
The fuel side of hydrogen is probably a tad overblown, but when you look at it as an industrial feedstock resulting in industries that are currently huge producers of CO2 becoming carbon zero then it all makes more sense.
The words in the link made me start. "Land bought for 1 billion". Then I read the whole story and found that that was the cost of the whole project. From the numbers quoted in the story it might have been about $2 million.
It sounds like a great idea. I particularly liked the bit that the cold climate there would reduce the cost of power to cool the facility. I believe that is a major reason why Iceland is in favour for this sort of place.
27º in Southland today.
32°c last week.
[you were banned (until 11th Feb), and while I’m not quite sure how you’re navigating your way around it, for every future comment you make, your ban will be extended by one month] – B
That sounds like bullying, Bill.
[take the day off Robert]- B
it's worth understanding that this is how Bill moderates.
I think for the first time I agree with Robert.
Tricledrown didn't navigate around the ban. They weren't told there was a ban nor for how long. Nor where they given a warning.
The issue is in the backend. It's grossly unfair to blame and punish a commenter who doesn't know they were banned for moderation mistakes that were completely outside of their control. Let alone for how long.
? I don't know what you're on about. I haven't extended the ban. And tricledrown was notified in just the same way as above in the original comment. Granted, I originally forgot to mention the time scale, but that's been rectified 😉
TD often doesn't go back and reread their comments, so it is very unlikely he saw your original note. That's why we mostly reply to a comment letting people know there is a mod note.
TD often doesn't even read replies, this has been discussed in the back end recently, I assume you knew because you referred to RL's warning.
Afaik this ban was never loaded into the ban list. You can check that but I looked on the day and it wasn't there.
There is minimal information in the Moderation list about what is going on.
As far as I can see no formal warning of a ban was given of what the problem was with the comments. We use bold to give warnings for a reason (and reply saying there is a mod note). This is why some people perceive the moderations as OTT and unfair. They come out of nowhere and people don't have the chance to change their behaviour.
Yes, you forgot to give a timeframe and now you've just threatened TD for commenting sooner than a timeframe which was never publicly notified and they couldn't have known about even if they had seen the moderation. An apology is in order there.
Next the govt should build a micro chip factory in the South,as with global warming is causing shortages of water in Taiwan slowing production
Pretty sure thats the premise to A View To A Kill
To Weka at6.1, my iPad won’t let me answer to posts directly. Quite cold probably, more than 1+ degree below normal for two years at least, like Pinatubo served up in 1992/3 after eruption in June 91, but may be worse as that was in the Northern Hemisphere. Expect lots of late and early frosts, ( spring/autumn ) big snow falls, 100s of thousands of sheep killed in 92 in very big snowfalls. But before there are global cooling celebrations, millions of tonnes of all sorts of shit we don’t want have been injected in to the upper atmosphere which will stay around for a long time. It may also depend on the makeup of the ejection materials, Pinatubo seeded very fine super heated silica which became glass like and resulted in gorgeous pearl coloured skies but kept the sun out for two summers.
Now 1 degree less doesn’t sound like much but a down to -14 degree frost killed almost 90% of the young olive trees in Marlborough in the spring which pretty much killed off the industry. We may get away with out effects now for a few weeks or so but when you see those skies a lot of agriculture will be buggered, from avocados to tomatoes and every thing in between and big losses to almost all farming industries.
Heres hoping almost all of that big cloud is just steam, but somehow I don’t think so.
I would like to link the NZ 1992 and 3 weather stats but it’s either me or this shitty iPad that won’t do it, probably me.
My heart goes out to all the 5 through 12 year olds today who are now going to be 'delivered up' to pointless but "safe and effective" injections by parents and guardians who've been misled and sunk in fear by over two years of 'official narrative' nonsense.
I wonder what all the gatekeepers, and those who have been anxious to censor and smear in order to shut down intelligent conversation and debate are going to say when the side effects of those injections emerge into the public awareness?
Maybe they'll do the honourable thing.
Denial of the relation between cause & effect normally works well. Also expect them to use "It's just a coincidence."
The links here are 'interesting' to say the least.
Germany is coming off the back of a Delta wave, and hospital admissions, ventilated patients and deaths are dropping even as Omicron infections soar.
The UK has a small uptick in admissions and confirmed deaths as Omicron infections now plummet.
There are charts for Israel and Spain too. The point being that hospitalisations, deaths and ventilated patients, depending what one of those three you look at, at worst barely register 50% of what was seen in the original wave of Covid.
ourworldindata reckons that shows the effectiveness of vaccines, even though there are skyrocketing infection rates, and are silent on Omicron being less aggressive or the fact that the vulnerable oldest demographics who account for the overwhelming majority of deaths have been (sorry for the term) harvested by previous waves.
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-metrics-previous-waves?utm_source=OWID+Newsletter&utm_campaign=57cd25901b-biweekly-digest-2022-01-14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2e166c1fc1-57cd25901b-536960754
And yet, here we are in NZ stuffing an experimental injectable into the arms of kids who face somewhere between 5/8ths of fuck all, and fuck all risk from infection.
On a side note. The CEO of OneAmerica (an insurance company) is reporting a 40% increase in non-covid deaths in the under 60s through the 3rd and 4th quarter. I guess that might be longer term effects of covid, or the aftermath of people not being seen for conditions because of Covid restrictions, or….well, the medium/long term effects of injection. Maybe there's a possible fourth explanation.
Maybe there's a possible fourth explanation.
Humans aren't very good at getting that far. Most go for the easiest explanation (low-hanging fruit). Discerning folk will go for #2, the likeliest explanation. Those capable of cogniting nuance as well as having discernment will go for explanations arising from complex contexts, #3.
Politicians get elected by majorities, so will reach for #1. Their advisors will point out that it's almost certainly wrong & alert them to reputational consequences. They will gulp, then go for #2. To get it right in complex circumstances they need to go to #3 but neither they nor their advisers know that.
Number 3 and CEO Scott Davison's radar….nope. 🙂
https://twitter.com/Mr_Mackei/status/1478008259474862081?s=20
What I take away from him is that yanks are more vulnerable than normal people due to most of them being obese plus their junk food habit means their immune system's working too hard all the time trying to eliminate toxins so the pandemic just tips them over the threshold – causing their bodies to file them in the too hard basket.
Oh, and capitalism is going to cost a lot more to operate. All good…
so, with all your statistics, I dont see any regarding employee absentieism re covid. why not? worried that it might not line up with all your other posts?
This is an incredible position from someone who can't even talk about long covid, let alone integrate it into their arguments. What's the honorable thing there?
Vaccines have side effects. Covid-19 has direct effects, multiple. The pandemic as a whole has lots of unwanted effects, multiple and compounding. There are no easy answers here. I've yet to see a solid argument against population wide vaccination when comparing those three aspects.
Yeah na fuck you bill, my baby was born during the time that cunt was pushing his autism caused by vaccines lie. , it took me a while to overcome the fear and protect my baby from measles mumps rubella, if any kid suffers from severe covid issues due to your anti vax shit then double fuck you you sad cunt.
[I’m really sorry you fell for spurious anti-vaccination propaganda. I’m not anti-vaccination and never have been. That said, the wrongheaded abuse you’re directing at me with its undertones of violence – is way beyond the pale, and beyond what I’m willing to accept as an author on this site. I’m banning you for six months. (17th July)] – B
My heart goes out to all parents and guardians of 5 – 11 year-olds who have the welfare of those children at heart – I'm relieved that it's their decision.
COVID-19 vaccine and children: Information for parents and caregivers
Children aged 5 years and over are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. Learn about the effects COVID-19 could have on unvaccinated young people, the effectiveness and safety of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and what to expect during the appointment.
Unite against
COVID-19
https://covid19.govt.nz
For the best CC use of Tiwai electricity it should stay as an aluminium smelter, closure will mean the shortfall will be filled by a coal powered one in China or India or elsewhere.
maybe we should stop making so many throwaway items from aluminium.
Aluminium is demanding a premium atm and quite likely to for…some time.
Has been constraints on bauxite supplies appsarantly.
My heart went out to the same cohort many years ago when I appreciated they were lining up for MMR shots. And once upon a time a TB shot. Oh no, a prick in the arm.
Those that suffered that are still here, alive and well, engaging in intelligent conversation, debate and action. And getting shots for Covid and welcoming their children and grand children having the chance to do the same. Nothing to do with being the honourable thing to do, just the most sane.
I've heard it said those generations have been driven by 'fear-mongering.'
I remember my high school mates and I lined up outside the sick bay to get our TB shots. Those who'd survived the trauma, the horror, walking back past the ones waiting "Oh God, it's terrible, my arm feels like its going to fall off," and getting round the corner to head for class pissing themselves laughing about the fear.
Now? If covid vaxx were done the same way and the doom merchants were believed we'd have every single kid lined up freaking out that the vaccines was going to kill them. and genuinely believing it.
I'm still trying to work out how the MOH and politicians are fear merchants ruling by fear by having daily updates are the demons yet others who preach "if you have the vaccine you're going to die" and, "it hasn't been researched" are heroes for looking out for public heath.
Firstly, I've precisely zero objection to vaccinations. And these injectables (not vaccinations), although they do not work as advertised and are not safe (no medicine is) do seem to have a role to play in protecting vulnerable people from the more severe consequences of infection.
Secondly, children face next to no risk from Covid. On bar charts of deaths where age range is included, it's basically quite difficult to discern the deaths in the under 40s.
What we have is people lining up to be jabbed, and lining others up to be jabbed, and people losing their jobs and careers because they're not jabbed, and anyone not jabbed being ostracized from society, because government led propaganda has resulted in people freaking out that Covid's going to kill them.
The IFR for under 70 years old is 0.05% ffs! And that lessens as age lowers.
Labour's plan to use kids as a science experiment is probably due to them being unaware that the plan does so. Labour folk have never been much good at integrating the big picture. Historically, they exemplify thinking driven by a syndrome which produced a special type of human called a do-gooder. It also produced the old saying the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Both of these feature in Labour's pandemic strategy.
Oxford English dictionary. 2b is the relevant definition. Using an example quote from 1983.
788k NZers aged 70+ in 2018 census. 393 dead at 100% infection and 0.05%IFR.
2b or not 2b, that is the question…
Well, it's soft and can smudge, but HB might tear the answer sheet when you try to fill in the little circles.
https://preview.redd.it/9qygg8wvfiv51.png?width=553&format=png&auto=webp&s=84ae70dd01134304ae9931e28a00a1ea8389b680
Tonga says: "Thanks for thinking of us between sets"
'Tasteless and insensitive': Defence Minister's gym selfie tribute to Tonga sparks outrage (msn.com)
Looks to me like Ani O'Brien's tweet, that the article is based on, was misleading. As Henare said,
It's been removed so I can't see it, but if Henare wrote a post as well as the photo, then AO left out important information.
The apostle finally remanded in custody after bail breach.
Fuck that guy.
good.