She's demonstrating political nous, eh? Generate headlines is the best way to raise your public profile. She's not blaming govt pakeha, specifically. Nor is she blaming Maori govt ministers for the ethnic cleansing. Very clever!
"The lack of Māori response by the Government to COVID-19, the lack of Māori engagement with Māori leadership during the lockdown, the removal by force of our rights protected under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and legislation rushed through under urgency further eroding civil liberties, in short is ethnic cleansing".
She knows how to play the media game. Sometimes people look behind what is said and try to understand what it means.
From the Newshub link, "Modelling released in April by research group Te Pūnaha Matatini shows that because of underlying health conditions, socioeconomic disadvantage and structural racism, the death rate for COVID-19 could be 2.5 times higher for Māori."
"According to the latest data, Māori represent 8 percent of the total cases so far – or 126 people." The statistics are current and obviously might change, significantly or not.
Pokere-Phillips will have genuine concerns about state powers. Getting attention on that with emotional links to bloody extermination is powerful. In method it's a David Farrar approach. The Ministry of Health lists Covid-19 cases by ethnicity. Maybe that's a good place to start in checking the reality of 'ethnic cleansing.'
"I’m angry the NZ Herald dumped the horoscopes, it was the only quality journalism they did." Get real. Those were merely sun-sign generalisations. A horoscope is the diagram of an event in relation to local cosmos. Can't expect journos to grasp such depths.
And he's still banging on about the "5 Eyes intelligence dossier "published in the Murdoch press despite the fact its been refuted several times over
Here's one such in the Guardian
"The deputy chair of the Australian parliament’s intelligence and security committee, Anthony Byrne, has been angered by the reported dossier, fearing the episode was reminiscent of the saga surrounding intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2003."
Until someone can intelligently walk me past the fact that a virus closely linked to bats, has it's first major human outbreak in the same city that happened to have the only lab in the world studying the same family of virus from bats … all the self-serving denials in the world mean nothing.
It could of course be an amazing coincidence, but then if I was found standing over a dead body holding a smoking gun, would any investigator accept my claim that "it wasn't me, it must have been some other bullet"? And then allow me to control access to the crime scene, control all the evidence and tell the police to go away?
Well , I guess its like John Key said ..more or less my experts against your experts, but lets keep it to science not "intelligence"
Professor Edward Holmes is an evolutionary virologist and a member of the Charles Perkins Centre and the Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity at the University of Sydney
"There is no evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
Coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2 are commonly found in wildlife species and frequently jump to new hosts. This is also the most likely explanation for the origin of SARS-CoV-2.
The closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2 is a bat virus named RaTG13, which was kept at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. There is some unfounded speculation that this virus was the origin of SARS-CoV-2. However:
(i) RaTG13 was sampled from a different province of China (Yunnan) to where COVID-19 first appeared; and
(ii) the level of genome sequence divergence between SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 is equivalent to an average of 50 years (and at least 20 years) of evolutionary change.
Hence, SARS-CoV-2 was not derived from RaTG13.
In addition, we know that viruses related to SARS-CoV-2 are also found in pangolins. This suggests that other wildlife species are likely to carry relatives of SARS-CoV-2.
In summary, the abundance, diversity and evolution of coronaviruses in wildlife strongly suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is of natural origin. However, a greater sampling of animal species in nature, including bats from Hubei province, is needed to resolve the exact origins of SARS-CoV-2."
Martenson does a pretty good job of picking apart Holmes's statement at the 18:40 mark of Tony Veitch's video posted above.
Holmes even reinforces the non-natural origin theory by saying that Covid is closest to RaTG13, the lab had access to RaTG13, and RaTG13 is naturally occuring in a different region of China to Wuhan.
I’m extremely reluctant to wade into this but the science aspect is mighty interesting.
One of the many missing pieces of the puzzle is why there was a 7-year gap between discovering RaTG13 and publishing the data? If RaTG13 occurs naturally then it should be possible to isolate it from a (its?) natural source, e.g. in the cave where it was purported to have been found in 2013.
A variation is that a bat urinated on a technician in the Wuhan laboratory. This really strengthens the laboratory theory, it ties so well into the 'bat-shit' crazy response to the epidemic from a number of world leaders
"OK so let's go with that idea. Now if we had a terrible accident at this firing range … what would be the first thing the person in charge might do? "
Well I'd hazard a guess it wouldnt be let the bent bat shit crazy chief of police that hates your guts and would love to send you down for anything run the investigation.
And in the meantime the person right next to the dead body, holding the hot smoking gun, gets to shutdown the scene, prevent any police from entering the property, control all the information and deny any possible guilt?
A ten year old wouldn't buy it.
The logical problem for anyone wanting to promote the idea that "there is no evidence" that it came from a lab, is they equally have no evidence that it came from a natural host either.
It's like your local police chief standing up at a presser and saying "I don't have a fucking clue" and pretending that somehow solved the case.
"And in the meantime the person right next to the dead body, holding the hot smoking gun, gets to shutdown the scene, prevent any police from entering the property, control all the information and deny any possible guilt?"
What smoking gun?…your problem is there is nobody standing next to a body holding a smoking gun…theres somebody saying there MIGHT have been somebody standing next to the body holding a smoking gun…..or the corpse may not even have a bullet wound…it could have been a heart attack for all you know.
Now you are being obdurate, pretending there is no biolab in Wuhan, that it was not studying closely related virus's, that it hadn't published papers on the topic, that their top researcher was not well known for her work in this field … and that the first major COVID outbreak was not in Wuhan.
Yes I can see that if you make all those facts go away, then there is no smoking gun either.
Indeed. And the question of whether the person had even been shot.
Forunately, just as a gun leaves a wound and powder residue genetic sequences provide information as to ancestry and provenance. There is no bullet wound.
Oh and that link you gave is to a paper, Holmes is one of the authors, published in early March (and presumably written in the weeks prior) that Martenson addresses in the light of subsequent understanding.
Just because Trump has gotten his sticky mitts on this story does not make him anyone's hero, and it certainly doesn't change the known fact that the CCP have done everything in their power to shut down independent investigation, and promote a narrative exonerating themselves at every step.
Pat, and others, you're missing the point. Chris Martenson is strictly apolitical. He's not trying to support any Trump conspiracy theories, he's looking at the evidence from an entirely logical and evidence based point of view.
His point is that the coronavirus has 'gain of function' additives which could only – stress only – have been added in a lab. He backs up his conclusions with proof which seems convincing to my unscientific mind.
Whether all this feeds into Trump's paranoia and politicising, he makes no comment on.
no need to waste 18 minutes….those studying the virus (and without political motives) have determined it is natural in origin…if they change their minds I will re-evaluate.
The first link relies on the idea that the closest known bat virus is decades apart in evolutionary terms, but selectively omits that it's routine procedure to force evolution in the lab in a matter of days.
The second link is just reporting assertions with no data
The third link is a re-run of the spike protein optimisation argument that Martenson suggests is not as water tight as being pretended.
The fourth link uses the argument that purposeful genetic manipulation always leaves behind 'telltale fingerprints', which is also not true. The method for avoiding this has been known since 2002, and is well known.
Now my quick scan of your four references is not terribly conclusive, except that even with my very limited understanding I can spot troubling questions and presuppositions in all of them. None of them even vaguely attempt to explain why the first major outbreak occurs in Wuhan, a city many hundreds of km from where the bloody bats live.
Agreed Pat. Human-mediated habitat destruction may have played a role in the formation of Covid-19; advocating that the virus was engineered in a lab is just (bat)shit-stirring – let's wait!
Novel human coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): A lesson from animal coronaviruses Our review was reasonably prepared also to highlight (once more!) how CoVs originate, evolve, jump, mutate and infect their host. Could have the current COVID-19 outbreak been avoided? Answering this question is not relevant now, but actions to avoid the next viral spillover from animals to humans is certainly a priority. This task needs to be coupled with massive genomic surveillance in wild animals not limited to CoVs. Massive sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 strains detected in humans and CoVs of wildlife will help further assess the origin of this novel human pandemic and plan future measures able to reduce the risk of emergence of new CoV spillover events. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378113520302935
Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses
“…given the prevalence and great genetic diversity of bat SARS-rCoVs, their close coexistence and the frequent recombination of CoVs, it is expected that novel variants will emerge in the future” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-018-0118-9
Watched the video at ~19 minutes, including Dr Martenson's first conclusion after 'analysing' "this Professor Holmes" statement:
"There is no evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China."
The excitable Martenson accepted that statement, and then assigned equal likelihood to the contrary statement that 'the virus did originate in a lab', on the basis that there's no evidence either way. IMHO anyone still listening after that 'analysis' is wasting their time, me included.
Martenson is espousing a belief, and asserting that expert virologists are (deliberately) ignoring his ‘analysis’. The idea that Professor Holmes' job depends (somehow) on Holmes not understanding Martenson's belief is ludicrous – wacky stuff!
Martenson's smoking gun, the presence of a "polybasic furin cleavage site" encoded in the Covid-19 genome, was commented on over three months ago – it's nothing new.
"…no clear evolutionary pathway has [yet] been identified that would explain the presence of COVID-19’s furin polybasic cleavage site…" – nevertheless, the idea that current molecular sequence databases magically contain a complete record of extant and transient/extinct coronavirus diversity – well, imagine!
Whereas conspiracy beliefs describing the pandemic as a hoax were more strongly associated with reduced containment-related behavior, conspiracy beliefs about sinister forces purposefully creating the virus related to an increase in self-centered prepping behavior. https://psyarxiv.com/ye3ma/
"a bat manages to pass a coronavirus to a pangolin, one of only a few thousand left in the world,"
in a wet market where both species were present and in close contact
"which somehow manages to swap part of that virus with a variation already in the pangolin"
which has occurred and been documented on many previous occasions
"This then picks up other critical parts of the virus composition present in pangolins, and –"
see previous
"miracle of miracles – jumps from animals to humans."
previously occurred
"All of the above can be done in a lab."
not easily and only with considerable luck as explained in the linked articles from my previous post…indeed the odds are far greater of it occurring naturally than by design.
lol. My explanation sure does miss the make a bit – and that's because the science is way beyond me – in terms of explaining it.
But I hope you'll take the time to go to the video and the 50 minute make and spend a few minutes listening to the explanation given by Chris Martenson. Then get back to me.
What if there was a pangolin in the Wuhan lab which caught the virus from a bat and the pangolin was not disposed of properly and someone touched a piece of the pangolin or materials which were used in the disposal of the pangolin?
Without doubt the virus has occurred naturally and is not man made.
Does it really matter if the virus came from the lab or the Wuhan market?
How the virus jumped to humans from bats/pangolins is what I would like to know?
Without doubt the virus has occurred naturally and is not man made.
Huh? How can one (e.g. you) be so absolutely 100% sure of this? Has anybody isolated it from a (its?) natural source other than infected humans and now cats, it appears?
If it was man-made we wouldn’t have to worry about how exactly it jumped species, would we?
Incorrect! The virus is not seen in bats and pangolins; there are similar viruses found in these species but they are not identical and definitely not close enough to be called “the virus”. There are some interesting questions hanging over the origin of RaTG13 based on close analysis and inspection of its genome (i.e. by sequencing). AFAIK, all reports of infected cats have been controlled experimental studies in the lab and large cats in zoos (https://thestandard.org.nz/dont-infect-your-feline-master/) and human-to-cat transfer, not the other way round. In any case, this is the same virus that jumps, not a similar one.
I have not read a closer fit than the theory that a bat gave the virus to a pangolin and a pangolin is the likely transmission to a human host.
When it comes to what reservoir caused AIDS, Ebola, MERs and similar viruses a lot is still unknown. Maybe there is a connection and this needs research.
Yes, I know you said that but the important (to me) point was that this is the same virus. They have yet to figure out where it came from and how and when it jumped and from which species to human.
Indeed, more research is needed and not just on SARS-COVID-2.
Except observing gradually increasing numbers of people with pneumonia isn't quite as obvious as the firing range analogy would suggest. Analogies do have their limits.
Did China act suspiciously slowly? I'm not so sure on that – they coded the sequence pretty quickly, got WHO in towards the end of January ISTR. Yeah, they did some "in denial" initially, but that seems to be common practise these days – very few of the top-tier nations can throw stones in that regard, so maybe China simply had the same motives as around half the members of the G7/8.
How early? When do you know they first had it? Only by knowing that you can say it was 'early' or not.
Sequencing these days is remarkably fast; once there were cases in other countries it was only a matter of days before the sequence became public domain anyway.
Chinese scientists submitted the gene sequencing data for posting on Virological.org, a hub for prepublication data designed to assist with public health activities and research. Earlier this week, they announced that they had isolated and fully sequenced the virus, setting off calls for full release of the details. The post was communicated by Edward Holmes, PhD, with the University of Sydney, on behalf of a Chinese group led by Yong-Zhen Zhang, PhD, with Fudan University in Shanghai.
Because the virus comes with it's own plan, once it got out of China it was a matter of days before everyone had it anyway.
Nor is anyone here using the term 'bioweapon' because that implies malicious intent. Because to date we have no trusted investigation, and no evidence based chain of events, no-one should yet be claiming this virus was intended to have a military purpose.
But that is quite different to ruling out a lab origin.
Yes there is a massive difference; that's why I was careful to use the term 'potential window'. Yes it's highly unlikely anyone would have sequenced the new virus back in November, but equally releasing it just before it was going to become public domain anyway really doesn't mean much.
In essence it comes back to knowing exactly when Chinese first had a sequence for it, and until you know that for certain any notion of 'early' is arbitrary.
"Early" is always a relative term, but when judging actions it usually is in reference to something that could be known at the time.
24 december first test of an unresolved clinical case throws up the issue. Alert raised a few days later. Sequence released 11 jan.
I mean, good luck with pretending that the first case was identified as a new disease and covered up for six weeks. The coverup is plausible – we've seen it from a variety of regimes. Identifying case #1 at the time? Not so much, especially if it looks like pneumonia and is in winter.
Wrong. The first case was on December the 27th in Paris,spread by a food hall worker returning from a Xmas trip to Wuhan to a co-worker who gave it to her husband. Nice Chrissy pressie. All as widely reported a few weeks ago.
Now, if you can't even get that right, where does all this bat-shit crazy stuff come from. Out of the arse of some foaming RW nutjob?
Hence the first cases outside of China that were diagnosed and could have been sequenced by non-Chinese researchers were sometime in mid January, which doesn't change the timeline at all.
In reality the Chinese lab in Shanghai (apparently shut down since) probably did the right thing and published the sequence pretty much when they first got it in early January. But to then claim this was somehow virtuously ‘early’, when the damned virus had already gone global is kind of stretching it.
As for my sources, I’ve been open on this for months. I am close to a well connected Chinese family, who have been conveying all this and much more to me since mid January.
What do you mean? Samples from patients have been sequenced all around the world, including New Zealand. Unless the Chinese scientists share the original sample for independent sequencing, it is just a long sequence of four letters. The similarity between the published original sequence and subsequent patient samples is very high.
Well, yes, and the so-called phylogenetic tree of the human cases is highly consistent with the published first sequence. None of this, however, proves anything about the true origin of the virus and where/how it allegedly jumped to humans.
Why not ask the French since it’s a joint French/Chinese research facility? Or do idiot levels of xenophobia simply not extend beyond Asian peoples to European ones?
The US outsourced it's bat virus research to China, too.
Newsweek recently put out some surprising reports that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) had funded the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The WIV is the level four research facility suspected by some of being a possible source for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already been on record confirming and defending this funding, saying it was “to protect American people from labs that aren’t up to standard.”
[…]
A third reason could be the fact that the United States has long held a fierce debate about the ethics and risks of gain-of-function (GOF) research. Critics, such as Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch, have argued that such work “entails a unique risk that a laboratory accident could spark a pandemic, killing millions.” These objections motivated the Obama administration to halt all domestic GOF research in 2011, a restriction that was later lifted in 2017, following the implementation of new safety protocols. Although we do not know exactly what went into the decision to fund the WIV during this moratorium, it is likely that domestic restrictions may have played a role, forcing the proponents of such work to seek opportunities abroad. These proponents are of the opinion that GOF research is worth the risk, being the best way to understand, prevent, and treat pandemics, an argument that is not without merit
As for the 'idiot levels of xenophobia' my Chinese friends would like to explain that not all Chinese think the CCP is wonderful. They find the idea that they all think exactly alike a little bit patronising.
Thank God Australia is breaking through all thise po-faced Chinese "you can't criticise us" crap.
New Zealand is reportedly among 62 nations that have come together to back Australia's call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian newspaper reported that it had obtained a draft resolution to be put to the World Health Assembly on Tuesday which was backed by key nations including India, Japan, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, and all 27 EU member states.
It demands World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus "initiate at the earliest appropriate moment … a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of the international response to the pandemic, the actions of the WHO and its timeline of the pandemic.
Yes my perspective here is probably coloured not just by my close contacts with Chinese locally, but because I'm reading a lot more Australian media than many people here.
One thing that is quite remarkable is this CCP 'wolf warrior' diplomacy the CCP let loose in April, and just how many nations they have gone out of their way to pick a fight with in just the past six weeks. Here in Australia alone they have shutdown imports from four major abbatoirs on transparently bogus 'technical' grounds, are in the process of an absurd 80% tariff on barley (apparently due to govt subsidises), have threatened to go to Brazil for iron ore and beef, and are now hinting that Chinese will not 'want' to visit Australia nor send their children to University here.
And Australia is by no means the only nation being threatened like this, the list is growing almost daily. Even NZ has gotten the treatment over Winston's proposal that Taiwan should be recognised by WHO.
Much of this will turn out to be bluster, but then last week when Trump mused about 'shutting down the entire relationship with China', official state media reported senior CCP officials saying that if that happened then there would be no restraint stopping them from a military invasion of Taiwan.
None of this strikes me as a China acting from a position of strength and confidence. The theory most plausible at the moment is the CCP is striving hard to inflame domestic nationalistic passions that can be directed toward internal repression, and maintenance of political control in the one party state.
"The embassy in Canberra declined to comment on a report in the Nine newspapers on Thursday of suspicions within senior ranks of the government and the intelligence community about a staffer’s possible role."
Blame a junior staffer has become popular of late. Usually interns or on short-term contracts, thus expendable. Also privacy law means you can never name them. Keeps the theory conjectural – anonymity plus obfuscation covers up reliably.
Rudd advises not drawing conclusions "until all the facts are on the table". Reminds us why he was such a spectacular failure as PM. Has anyone ever seen China put all the facts on the table about anything? Of course not. Nor the US, in recent memory.
You're suggesting that the wish to have all facts on the table before accusing another nation of the most dire malevolent actions disqualifies him from public office?
Jesus, no wonder we have politicians of such low calibre these days
No, just pointing to the fact that wishing to have all the facts on the table (about anything) is merely wishful thinking. An intelligent person would realise that before making a fool of themselves in public, right?
I fully support the democratic right of wishful thinkers to have political careers, of course. Likewise the mentally ill. Those who complain about Trump having no right to be doing his deranged thing are exhibiting their discrimination against mentally-challenged folk…
Thanks for the links francesca. To me the topic is summed up nicely at the end of the first link:
“It’s puzzling to me, there is a perfectly natural or scientific explanation staring you in the face. But there seems to be a need from some people to say ‘that’s too simple, there must be a conspiracy here’.”
It not just simplicity. It's politics – as opposed to a well researched scientific explanation which is not yet complete.
A handful of leaders have good cause to introduce conspiracy theories despite the fact there is no evidential backing for them. Leading the charge is Trump. That tells me it is designed to cover his own appalling record of narcissism, arrogance, incompetence, stupidity and incoherence reminiscent of a two year old having a tantrum.
Leading the charge is Trump. That tells me it is designed to cover his own appalling record of narcissism, arrogance, incompetence, stupidity and incoherence reminiscent of a two year old having a tantrum.
Which is all true of Trump.
But this does not speak to anything that happened in Wuhan or the subsequent actions of the CCP to close down any investigation. Trump's stupidity and incoherence does not erase the known perfidy of the CCP.
And besides the work being done by many people trying to independently understand the origin of SARS-COV-2 was underway months before Trump got onto the bandwagon.
No, it does not speak to what happened in Wuhan, but Trump is the one spreading the conspiracies (together with his influential supporters in the media and elsewhere) and he isn't doing so out of genuine concern to trace the origin of the virus.
We don't yet know the truth of what happened in Wuhan but I'll wager a bet it was never part of the sinister conspiracy Trump and co. are trying to generate in an attempt to detract from his miserable performance.
One theory I heard sometime back which has a grain of plausibility:
this research centre in Wuhan might have been offloading some of its ' specimens' to the wet markets once they no longer had any use for them. Now, if that proved to be the case, it wouldn't surprise me if China is trying to keep it under wraps.
I'll wager a bet any country including America would do the same thing under the same circumstances. That's not a conspiracy though. It's a guilty conscience that the local Chinese authorities took their eyes off the ball.
There are a whole range of possibilities; everything from an engineered bio-weapon through to naturally occurring mutation, with a LOT of possibilities in between. At this point in time I'm willing to accept they're all in play, no-one has conclusively ruled anything in or out.
But right from the outset the CCP has been acting as if they had something to hide. Sure there has been cooperation and apparent transparency where it aligns with their self-serving narrative, but no rigorous independent outside scrutiny by a trusted authority. Every week that has gone by has reduced the chance of anyone ever finding out the truth of this matter, and over time the CCP can probably count of people not caring enough to insist.
Maybe Stalin was right when he said "the death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions a statistic".
How does the Chinese government behaviour differ from that of any other nation that has hidden the extent of its problem, gamed the data or testing to keep apparent numbers low, or simply claimed to have a minimal problem while its all-cause mortality rate seems to have gone through the roof?
If the first outbreak had been in Auckland, our govt had badly mishandled it so that it got loose in the world, and then refused to engage with any independent accountability … would you be making the same excuse?
Will Star Wars be coming to New Zealand? Sounds far fetched but there is increasing speculation (not just this entertainment article) that our government's response could reap big rewards with the risk averse international film industry.
Apparently, the NZ guilds and safety industry worked very hard to get their work protocol document signed off by Work Safe. A government sanctioned system in a one state country looks very attractive to both producers and cast alike.
Wasn't a NZ story, which is what I meant. I also thought JoJo Rabbit was shite, had some laughs, but pretty Carry On really (yet I loved Thor Ragnarok so I'm not total kill joy). Looking forward to the Luminaries tonight.
An idea moving forward . Move to a 4 on 4 off working week. Business open 7 days spreads the congestion over 7 days ,rather than 5 full on 2 less so. Increased employment opportunities And 4 day weekends will encourage more getaways to enhance local tourism. Work and life would be in balance.
My statistician son has filled me in on a very comprehensive survey of the pandemic in Spain. Out of 230,000 cases and 29,000 deaths it leaves a mortality rate of 1.15%, almost exactly the same as NZs.
But the key finding was that only 5% of the Spanish population were exposed to it which shoots down the whole "herd immunity" bullshit, unless you are happy to let it run wild and kill 1.15% of your population which in our case would be about 54,000 dead.
So the projections that Jacinda and co were presented with were pretty accurate, so thank you very much to the Labour Government and the brilliant advisory team for keeping us safe and saving us all of the anguish and grieving.
Spain's population is somewhere around 46 to 47 million and 29,000 deaths (worldometers.info has it 27,500 at the moment) I can't see how you got the mortality rate of 1.15%… that would mean somewhere around 500,000 deaths.
My guess is someone used the 5% of exposed population in Spain, so around 2,3 million and 29,000 deaths. How do you precisely determine the “exposed population”?
For me doing forward estimates the mortality is the number of know COVID19 related deaths by the number of known COVID19 cases. And therefore the number is for many countries closer to 10% than 1% (worldometer has a global average of 15%) and will probably reduce over time when the number cases will increase retrospectively (unknown asymptomatic cases at the moment, but known cases in the future, for example determined by blood-tests).
Not following your maths Adrian. 29,000 deaths / 230,000 infections = 12.6% 'mortality rate' for Spain, based on your numbers, so not sure where the "mortality rate of 1.15%" comes from. The apparent death rate in NZ is 21 deaths / 1,150 confirmed infections = 1.8%, or 1.4% if you include probable cases/infections.
IMHO (and from my point of view) our government, public service health workers, and the NZ public in general have done an outstanding job of moderating the impact of Covid-19 on the health and welfare of NZers – long may that continue.
Back in the day, people were obliged to read the Bible. If, like me, you had this brainwashing forced upon you, treat yourself to a fun literary nostalgia trip: https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/a-pandemic-parable
Oscar Kightley: "to some people, broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan is the devil." Probably because they haven't noticed his lack of horns & forked tail.
Piers may have become less cunty because he can't threaten to sic his reporters on people he hates. Unlike the Generalissimo he doesn't have the apparatus of a fascist state backing him (officially).
Has anyone with a bit of knowledge on the matter got any idea of what is likely to happen with the NZME's attempt to take over Stuff, and what the implications are?
Let's see what that editorial writer says when the actual government rescue package arrives.
The government has both cash carrot and regulatory and legislative sticks in play already. All the power to reorganise the mainstream media to survive 2020 is with Chris Fa'afoi now.
On May 5, Allison, whose real name is being withheld for her safety, received a strange DM. It was from a woman she didn’t know, who informed her that she was on a disturbing website that was compiling information about white women in interracial relationships.
When she went to the website, she found her name, photos, and social media handles under the label “traitors.”
“It was weird, and strange, and creepy,” said Allison, 28. “I was thinking, ‘Who takes the time to do this?’”
The website names, shames, and effectively promotes violence against interracial couples and families — and it’s been circulated in some of the darkest corners of the internet, including in neo-Nazi Discord servers and accelerationist Telegram channels.
[…]
The website was created in April but was taken offline after their initial hosting provider cut ties with them. They then found a home with one of Russia’s largest domain registrars, R01. VICE News contacted R01 on Tuesday to ask whether the site violated their policies. An hour later, the site was taken offline, but as of Wednesday morning it was back up. Tatiana Agafonova, a spokesperson for R01, wrote in an email that the company would “diligently render its services to customers” unless a court rules otherwise or they’re contacted by law enforcement.
Hey, @realDonaldTrump is promoting a NAZI website. Trump 👏 Is 👏 promoting 👏 NAZIS! Why is this not front page news? Why are people not demanding his immediate resignation? pic.twitter.com/XEt7sIcYkJ
— Antifa Air Force Commander (@aceoaces) May 16, 2020
There are always post-budget polls in NZ. This year?
I wonder if Mediaworks have the cash. Otherwise it's just Colmar Brunton and TVNZ. And the fewer public polls there are, the more "private" polls get used to fill the gap (as we've seen with the UMR 29% story).
I am sure most (if not everyone) would support the wage subsidy that the govt implemented, a few less on the extension. Given the urgency of the situation at the time, I am pleasantly taken back by effectiveness of the response. BUT I hope that there is adequate follow up on those companies gaming the generosity of this country.
"Our form on this is deeply discouraging. We have already spent some $40b on Christchurch’s rebuild from its earthquakes – and the job’s far from complete. But all we’ve done is create a pleasant replica of a mid-20th century city. Not an exhilarating example of a 21st century city, with all the amenities, technology and liveability that would offer."
"If our businesses and government wonder how New Zealand could follow some of Vivid’s recommendations, they need look no further than The Green Covid Response written by Greenpeace New Zealand."
Greenpeace…not the Greens
"The worry is the coalition parties actually don’t know how to do that."
Prime minister Sophie Wilmès received a cold reception from staff at the Saint Peter hospital in Brussels yesterday on an official visit, when staff formed a reception committee and turned their backs on her ministerial car on arrival.
[…]
The dialogue with the nursing staff and other front-line workers appeared slightly different on her arrival, however. As her car entered the Saint Peter hospital grounds and made its way to the entrance, a double row of health care workers lining the route ostentatiously turned their backs on her arrival, in what some observers described as a “guard of dishonour”.
Representatives later explained that front-line workers were disappointed in the government’s handling of the crisis, and its approach to health care in general, including issues such as budget cuts, low salaries and staff shortages. They are also unhappy about the government’s attempts to recruit unqualified staff to provide support to nursing personnel, rather than pay for trained professionals.
from tourism at least it appears not to any great extent…there are still other areas that have a negative net impact….then there is likely commodity deflation to contend with.
Hopefully much of that reduced activity will parallel property deflation.
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The recent leadership change in the governing Labour party resulted in a very strange response from National’s (current) leader, Christopher Luxon. Mr Luxon berated Labour for it’s change of leader, citing no actual change.As ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 22, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 28, 2023. Story of the Week New Study Reveals Arctic Ice, Tracked Both Above and Below, Is Freezing LaterClimate change is affecting the timing of both ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It was another ‘SHOCK! HORROR!’ headline from a media increasingly venturing into tabloid-style journalism:Andrea Vance’s article seemed to focus on the "million dollar sums from the Government as the country grapples with a housing ...
Dr Brian Easton writes: It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. Here is my guess at some ...
What Was the Prime Minister Reading in the Runup to Election Year?It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. ...
In case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...
Farming leaders are watching closely whether Damien O’Connor keeps the key portfolios of Agriculture and Trade when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins restructures his Cabinet. O’Connor has been one of the few ministers during Labour’s term in office who has won broad support for what he has done ...
South Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...
Ok, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet ...
Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...
The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called the feminine principle, the anima is what the human male has made out ...
The Select Committee, considering the proposed RNZ-TVNZ merger, has come back with a report conceding many of the criticisms that were made of the original legislation. In what is one of the most comprehensive demolitions of a Bill submitted to a Select Committee, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation ...
Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Today we found something fresh on the Beehive website, Beehive.govt.nz, which claims to be the best place to find Government initiatives, policies and Ministerial information. It wasn’t from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, whose reaction to the latest inflation figures would have been appreciated. So, too, ...
Smiling And Waiving A Golden Opportunity: Chris Hipkins knew that the day at Ratana would be Jacinda’s day – her final opportunity to bask in the unalloyed love and support of her followers. He simply could not afford to be seen to overshadow this last chance for his former boss ...
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...
To challenge the Government’s promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxon’s race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
Yesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, it’s getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...
Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon Rātana for the ...
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealand’s next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...
A statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes … In the wake of Ardern’s abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is ...
An editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): “bananas” (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) “cave” dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...
Back in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...
Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system “fairer”. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning in its favour, given Labour’s support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...
NewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...
Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central towards the ...
Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern last week, her replacement, Chis Hipkins, has said: Over the coming week, Cabinet will be making decisions on reining in some programs and projects that aren’t essential right now That messaging is similar to what Jacinda Ardern said late last year and as ...
Much of what will mark the early days of Chris Hipkins’ Prime Ministership would have happened anyway. By December, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister were making it clear the summer break and early days of this year were going to be spent on a reset of government policy. ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with an election coming up and all that. So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I'm no fan of Elon Musk. You don't want to know why, but I'll ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 15, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 21, 2023. Story of the Week State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022With a new year underway, most of the climate data for ...
Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Get ready for a major political reset once Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister this week. Labour’s new leader is likely to push the Government to the right economically, and do his best to jettison the damaging perceptions that Labour has become “too woke” on social issues. Overall, ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Because our hard-working Ministers of the Crown are engaged in Labour Party caucus stuff in Napier, no doubt jockeying to ensure they keep their jobs or get a better one, Point of Order was not surprised to find no fresh news on the Beehive website this ...
By the end of 2019, Jacinda Ardern was a political superstar heading towards an election defeat. She was an icon, internationally beloved, on track to be an ex-prime minister before the age of forty. It was the year of the Christchurch terror attack when Ardern’s response to the atrocity saw ...
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. ...
Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. So, although Ardern has named an ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Earlier this week Point of Order carried a post by Geoffrey Miller on how Japan under a new security blueprint is doubling its defence spending. The plans see Japan buying up advanced weaponry – including long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US – and spending more on ...
Anyone else suffering back-to-work-blues? We’re battling, but still upright. Haere tonu! Today’s cover image is of sunset over Tirohanga Whānui Bridge, sourced from Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Jolisa pondered the fate of AT’s ‘Statements of Imagination’. Tuesday’s post was a guest post by Grady ...
Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
The resignation of Jacinda Ardern has already made more global headlines than you might expect for that of the PM of a small commonwealth nation like say Sierra Leone (population 6.5 million) or Singapore (population 5.5 million). But international observers might not be too surprised by Ardern’s announcement that ...
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hard on the heels of our Buzz from the Beehive earlier today, the PM has made two announcements – the 2023 general election will be held on Saturday 14 October and she will not be campaigning to win a third term as Prime Minister. She will ...
Jacinda Ardern had an outsized impact on New Zealand’s international relations. While all Prime Ministers travel internationally, Ardern’s calendar was fuller than most. Ardern’s first major foreign trip came within weeks of her election in 2017, to the APEC summit in Vietnam. The meeting gave Ardern her first in-person encounter ...
She gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government’s cultural policy, released Monday, “puts First Nations first”, while also promising regulated Australian content on streaming services and a shift to greater support for the popular in the arts. The policy reflects ...
An inexhaustive list of community assistance in the Auckland area.Kai, clothing, bedding Auckland City Mission A flood response fund has been set up by the mission. Both Vodafone and Te Rourou, Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation will match donations up to $35,000 each. So, for every $10 donated, $30 will go ...
Auckland Emergency Management have issued an emergency mobile alert ahead of the potential for extremely heavy rain to hit the Auckland region. The alert warned Aucklanders of MetService’s orange heavy rain warning between now and Monday. The Met Service issued an orange heavy rain warning due to an active line of thunderstorms ...
By Barbara Dreaver, 1News Pacific correspondent The Moungavalu family in Aotearoa New Zealand are grateful to be alive. Their Māngere home in Auckland, along with others in their street, was hit hard by flooding with chest-deep water sweeping down the road. Mohe Mougavalu says the water went down their no ...
Auckland's mayor says lessons have been learned following the region's highest ever rainfall over 24 hours, which left four people dead and forced hundreds of people out of their homes. ...
Oceans are at their warmest state ever and that has consequences, Kevin Trenberth writes I am a climate scientist who has been around watching the climate crisis grow from one of little concern to one where enough extremes of weather have grabbed the attention of the public. It is now ...
The deputy prime minister, Carmel Sepuloni, and transport minister Michael Woods spoke Sunday afternoon and updated on the government’s response to the state of local emergency in Auckland. Today there will be 70-80 case managers supporting those calling the MSD helpline for assistance. Sepuloni encouraged anyone needing any assistance (food, ...
Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says it has been "incredibly heartening" to see the way Aucklanders had helped each other out over the past few days. Sepuloni and Transport Minister Michael Wood have provided today's government update on the ongoing state of emergency in Auckland. Sepuloni thanked the many organisations ...
The deputy prime minister says it has been "incredibly heartening" to see the way Aucklanders had helped each other out over the past few days. Watch the latest government update here. ...
The deputy prime minister and the transport minister are providing today's government update on the ongoing state of emergency in Auckland. Watch it live here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland Getty Images We’ve built our cities to be vulnerable to – and exacerbate – major weather events such as the one we saw in Auckland on Friday. While almost no ...
If you’ve managed to secure some eggs, here’s a tasty dish from the Parsi cuisine which essentially revolves around eggs… Even if they were an acquired taste for Perzen Patel. I’ve always been mentally allergic to eggs. I’ll eat cakes that have eggs and dishes where I can’t see or ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s Service Improvement Programme worth more than K1 billion (NZ$440 million) has become a major cash cow for “irresponsible” leaders, says the monitoring agency. In the past decade, the Provincial and District Services Improvement Programme has delivered much but has not achieved what it set out ...
Twice a week, church bells ring out through Auckland’s CBD. Sam Brooks meets the people who make it happen.If you happen to be on the Victoria Park side of the CBD on a Tuesday night or a Sunday morning, you’ll hear the sound of eight bells ringing clear as, ...
An excerpt from a keynote speech delivered in November last year to mark Ben Brown’s time as Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador.We imagine ourselves into existence and a universe comes with us. This is the first and most important function of language, revealed to us ideally ...
Or if he did, it might read something like thisVexed, defensive, shouty, Mayor Brown the Second wore the countenance of a man who had just discovered, to his irritation and horror, that he is, you know, the mayor of Auckland. At Saturday’s press conference in response to the record-breaking, ...
When you consider their remote location, perilous terrain and dark, sometimes ugly history, it seems incredible that anyone still lives on Pitcairn Island. But almost 50 people do and, as Graeme Lay discovers, they live very well. The supply ship Claymore II stands off the north coast of Pitcairn Island. ...
Heavy rain has hit Bay of Plenty and Coromandel overnight and there's more rain on the way for Auckland, but people are beginning to take stock of the damage. A home has collapsed in Tauranga and residents have been evacuated. There are a number of road closures mainly in the ...
In the second of a three-part series on Labour's leadership transition, Elliot Crossan focuses on how Labour's economic handling of the Covid crisis created an explosion in inequality. Read part one here.Opinion: In her emotional resignation speech, Jacinda Ardern described how she no longer had “enough in the tank to do ...
ANALYSIS:By James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced on the night of January 27, the eve of the city’s anniversary weekend, was caused by rainfall that was literally off the chart. Over 24 hours, 249mm of rain fell — well ...
RNZ News Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has acknowledged the way Aucklanders have come together and opened their homes to those in need, with the New Zealand government focused on providing the resources needed to get the city back up and running. The new prime minister — just four days into ...
RNZ News Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty has asked for communication on support after the severe thunderstorm in Auckland to be stepped up. It comes after a Civil Defence warning text failed to be sent out, and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told RNZ they will be reviewing the response, ...
RNZ News Three people are dead and at least one person is missing following the flooding overnight in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. About 1000 people were still stranded today after Auckland Airport was closed last night because of flooding of the arrival and departure foyers. Flights were cancelled for ...
Wayne Brown has doubled down on his decision last night to shun the media until close to midnight and only order a state of emergency at 9.30pm. In a defensive display to the media this afternoon, the Auckland mayor was questioned on comments other councillors made last night, including some ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed there are three deaths linked to the extreme weather event in Auckland over the past 24 hours. There is also at least one person missing. Speaking at a press conference in Auckland, Hipkins said the priority was to make sure Aucklanders were safe, housed ...
*This story was first published on The Conversation and is republished with permission*Until New Zealand's stormwater drain system adapts to our rising climate, it will never be able to cope with the level of flooding seen in Auckland on Friday night, writes James Renwick The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced ...
Chris Hipkins has experienced his first major event as prime minister, just days into his tenure. He’s spent the day in Auckland alongside emergency services, surveying the damage and assessing next steps. He’s due to speak at 3.15pm alongside Auckland mayor Wayne Brown. Thanks to Stuff, here is a livestream. ...
Due to the “unprecedented weather event” in Auckland, organisers have confirmed the “heartbreaking decision” to cancel this year’s Laneway Festival. “We were so excited to deliver this show to our biggest crowd ever in New Zealand, our team has been working around the clock to do everything they can to ...
With the rain easing for a moment, many will be beginning the arduous task of cleaning out their flooded property. Auckland council has release advice for cleaning up after a flood. Cleaning up after a flood It is important to clean and dry your house and everything in it. Floodwater ...
Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan says the airline’s domestic flights in and out of Auckland resumed from 12pm today as Auckland Airport re-opens. But he said with a backlog of flights and customers, the priority is those who need to travel urgently. “Those ...
Festival-goers holding on hope for Laneway, set to take place at Western Springs on Monday, will have to wait a bit longer for an official update. A brief post on Facebook this afternoon stated: “Safety is Laneway Festival’s number one priority. With the large weather event Auckland is currently experiencing, ...
Wayne Brown has defended the timing of a declaration of a state of emergency last night following record rainfall in Auckland. “The state of emergency is a prescribed process, it’s quite formal, and I had to wait until I had the official request from the emergency management centre. The moment ...
After the 11th hour cancellation last night, Elton John has cancelled the second concert of his farewell tour at Mt Smart, which had been scheduled for this evening. In a statement, John said: “Following the instruction of the emergency services, we have no option but to cancel tonight’s show in ...
The member of parliament for Mt Albert, Jacinda Ardern, has posted a message on Facebook following the flooding in Auckland. “I’m very conscious that it’s been a while since I posted, and there have been a few big things happening. But today the most important thing is everyone’s wellbeing and ...
Flooding of the runway, the check-in and arrivals areas on the ground floor and surrounding roads has disrupted operations at Auckland International, halting all departures until at least 5pm today, with no arrivals before 4:30am tomorrow. “People are asked not to come to the International Terminal at this time for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Victoria Park near the Auckland CBD on January 27.Getty Images The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced on the night of January 27, the eve of the ...
New Zealand’s largest insurance group, IAG, says it is on track to receive more than 1,100 claims from Aucklanders by lunchtime after the city was deluged in the wettest day on record. Those claims, said the group which includes AMI, State and NZI Insurance, span property damage to homes and ...
The rampant flooding in Auckland didn’t just detonate its provincial public holiday weekend – it coincided with the biggest weekend of the year to date for live events. A pair of Elton John concerts at Mt Smart stadium had a combined capacity of over 80,000, while both Laneway at Western ...
Auckland is beginning a clean-up after its wettest day since records began. “Auckland was clobbered on Friday,” said emergency management duty controller Andrew Clark. “We won’t start to get a good idea of numbers affected until later today and, even then, this will take time, with information still coming in ...
The prime minister, Chris Hipkins, is travelling to Auckland after devastating floods hit the city overnight. With the airport out of operation until at least midday, he is landing at Whenuapai air base on a New Zealand Defence Force Hercules aircraft from Wellington. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has arrived in Auckland for a daylong visit to the city following its catastrophic flood on Friday night. Flying in an Air Force Hercules to Whenuapai, Hipkins will spend roughly three hours on the ground assessing flood damage in the city before returning. He will receive ...
A quirk of timing left all Auckland’s institutions on the back foot. But social media, particularly TikTok, graphically showed just how bad the situation was. Late afternoon on a Friday is known as time to quietly drop bad news. You have the plausible deniability of it happening during work hours, ...
It’s a common sight during summer. It’s also a recipe for disaster.I recently drove with my family from New Plymouth to Tāmaki Makaurau and, just like how I lost count of how many cows I saw on the way, I lost count of how many cars had a passenger ...
Opinion - Election year has begun with a bang, and already the punditry and speculation are ramping up, but Grant Duncan warns not to treat polls as gospel. ...
New Zealand’s new prime minister, Chris Hipkins, is formally facing down an emergency just a few days after being sworn in, summoning the National Crisis Management Centre to the Beehive. The Beehive Bunker is being stood up to help with coordination of the emergency response in Auckland. I’ve asked ...
Analysis - Jacinda Ardern is one of New Zealand's most historically significant leaders. But she did not achieve the grand vision for Aotearoa her outsized rhetoric promised. ...
Brits abroad can be an asset to Aotearoa - but only if we make an effort to engage with te ao Māori, writes Scottish expat Fran Barclay Earlier this week, the UK High Commissioner signalled a promising intention to address the barriers facing young Māori and Pasifika who aspire to ...
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"A new Māori Party candidate is accusing the Government of "ethnic cleansing" over its COVID-19 response. Donna Pokere-Phillips, who's standing in the Hauraki-Waikato electorate seat" https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/05/covid-19-new-maori-party-candidate-accuses-government-of-ethnic-cleansing.html
She's demonstrating political nous, eh? Generate headlines is the best way to raise your public profile. She's not blaming govt pakeha, specifically. Nor is she blaming Maori govt ministers for the ethnic cleansing. Very clever!
"The lack of Māori response by the Government to COVID-19, the lack of Māori engagement with Māori leadership during the lockdown, the removal by force of our rights protected under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and legislation rushed through under urgency further eroding civil liberties, in short is ethnic cleansing".
She knows how to play the media game. Sometimes people look behind what is said and try to understand what it means.
From the Newshub link, "Modelling released in April by research group Te Pūnaha Matatini shows that because of underlying health conditions, socioeconomic disadvantage and structural racism, the death rate for COVID-19 could be 2.5 times higher for Māori."
"According to the latest data, Māori represent 8 percent of the total cases so far – or 126 people." The statistics are current and obviously might change, significantly or not.
Pokere-Phillips will have genuine concerns about state powers. Getting attention on that with emotional links to bloody extermination is powerful. In method it's a David Farrar approach. The Ministry of Health lists Covid-19 cases by ethnicity. Maybe that's a good place to start in checking the reality of 'ethnic cleansing.'
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases#ethnicity
That, or it's all she's got.
https://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_1999/e9/html/e9_partIII_1.html
https://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2017/statistics/split-votes-electorate-14.html
A nimble party-hopper! Nobody will accuse her of having convictions. Not a party-pooper. 💃🏽 🍷
The bomber lists 27 things that are currently making him angry. I wonder if he has ever thought of taking a course in anger management? Could reduce the tally. https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/05/16/my-pandemic-of-rage/
"I’m angry the NZ Herald dumped the horoscopes, it was the only quality journalism they did." Get real. Those were merely sun-sign generalisations. A horoscope is the diagram of an event in relation to local cosmos. Can't expect journos to grasp such depths.
Oooo Mandy, you are awful!
But I like the cut of your jib and the sophistication that saunters along with it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJmg-879j5o
An horoscope was an helpful guide for your Reagan neocon Den.
Bomber should do daily numerology it is more accurate.
And he's still banging on about the "5 Eyes intelligence dossier "published in the Murdoch press despite the fact its been refuted several times over
Here's one such in the Guardian
"The deputy chair of the Australian parliament’s intelligence and security committee, Anthony Byrne, has been angered by the reported dossier, fearing the episode was reminiscent of the saga surrounding intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2003."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/australia-hits-back-at-us-claim-linking-coronavirus-to-wuhan-lab
And Kevin Rudd not holding back
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/murdoch-media-s-china-coronavirus-conspiracy-has-one-aim-get-trump-re-elected-1.4250379
Until someone can intelligently walk me past the fact that a virus closely linked to bats, has it's first major human outbreak in the same city that happened to have the only lab in the world studying the same family of virus from bats … all the self-serving denials in the world mean nothing.
It could of course be an amazing coincidence, but then if I was found standing over a dead body holding a smoking gun, would any investigator accept my claim that "it wasn't me, it must have been some other bullet"? And then allow me to control access to the crime scene, control all the evidence and tell the police to go away?
Absolutely RL.
Check out Chris Martenson in this postings and ones before it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD3ztjqYGbg
Conspiracy Theories abound those who invent them and spread them are trying to be relevant fame seekers.
Trump is their perfect super hero.
He's the hero they deserve.
Unfortunately it fucks everyone else, as well.
Next: Trump gets called batshit crazy. May have already happened.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=batshit%20crazy
Well , I guess its like John Key said ..more or less my experts against your experts, but lets keep it to science not "intelligence"
Professor Edward Holmes is an evolutionary virologist and a member of the Charles Perkins Centre and the Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity at the University of Sydney
Martenson does a pretty good job of picking apart Holmes's statement at the 18:40 mark of Tony Veitch's video posted above.
Holmes even reinforces the non-natural origin theory by saying that Covid is closest to RaTG13, the lab had access to RaTG13, and RaTG13 is naturally occuring in a different region of China to Wuhan.
Hmmmm
economic researcher and "futurist" spouting Trumpian conspiracy theories versus virologists and reputed medical journals
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/23/21226484/wuhan-lab-coronavirus-china
I’m extremely reluctant to wade into this but the science aspect is mighty interesting.
One of the many missing pieces of the puzzle is why there was a 7-year gap between discovering RaTG13 and publishing the data? If RaTG13 occurs naturally then it should be possible to isolate it from a (its?) natural source, e.g. in the cave where it was purported to have been found in 2013.
The reason that lab was studying diseases in bats is because … in that region are disease carrying bats. Even the US spies deny it's lab made.
Perhaps, just perhaps, they deny it's lab made because Fauci and the CDC were helping to finance research into coronavirus in Wuhan?
A variation is that a bat urinated on a technician in the Wuhan laboratory. This really strengthens the laboratory theory, it ties so well into the 'bat-shit' crazy response to the epidemic from a number of world leaders
/sarc
nope a cat playing with the vial on a shelf knocked it off!!
Maybe the person holding a gun was doing so because they were at a firing range?
It's not uncommon to set up research centres in areas most convenient to conduct that research. Some might say it's almost sensible to do so.
OK so let's go with that idea. Now if we had a terrible accident at this firing range … what would be the first thing the person in charge might do?
Now compare this with what happened in Wuhan?
"OK so let's go with that idea. Now if we had a terrible accident at this firing range … what would be the first thing the person in charge might do? "
Well I'd hazard a guess it wouldnt be let the bent bat shit crazy chief of police that hates your guts and would love to send you down for anything run the investigation.
lol
And in the meantime the person right next to the dead body, holding the hot smoking gun, gets to shutdown the scene, prevent any police from entering the property, control all the information and deny any possible guilt?
A ten year old wouldn't buy it.
The logical problem for anyone wanting to promote the idea that "there is no evidence" that it came from a lab, is they equally have no evidence that it came from a natural host either.
It's like your local police chief standing up at a presser and saying "I don't have a fucking clue" and pretending that somehow solved the case.
"And in the meantime the person right next to the dead body, holding the hot smoking gun, gets to shutdown the scene, prevent any police from entering the property, control all the information and deny any possible guilt?"
What smoking gun?…your problem is there is nobody standing next to a body holding a smoking gun…theres somebody saying there MIGHT have been somebody standing next to the body holding a smoking gun…..or the corpse may not even have a bullet wound…it could have been a heart attack for all you know.
What smoking gun?
Now you are being obdurate, pretending there is no biolab in Wuhan, that it was not studying closely related virus's, that it hadn't published papers on the topic, that their top researcher was not well known for her work in this field … and that the first major COVID outbreak was not in Wuhan.
Yes I can see that if you make all those facts go away, then there is no smoking gun either.
and everyone who dies in the presence of firearms has been deliberately shoot….good grief
Every death in the presence of firearms is thoroughly and carefully investigated by a trusted authority.
Only then can the question of intent be resolved.
Indeed. And the question of whether the person had even been shot.
Forunately, just as a gun leaves a wound and powder residue genetic sequences provide information as to ancestry and provenance. There is no bullet wound.
And the question of whether the person had even been shot.
I would have thought 311,516 deaths to date would have been enough for you.
Oh and that link you gave is to a paper, Holmes is one of the authors, published in early March (and presumably written in the weeks prior) that Martenson addresses in the light of subsequent understanding.
Just because Trump has gotten his sticky mitts on this story does not make him anyone's hero, and it certainly doesn't change the known fact that the CCP have done everything in their power to shut down independent investigation, and promote a narrative exonerating themselves at every step.
Pat, and others, you're missing the point. Chris Martenson is strictly apolitical. He's not trying to support any Trump conspiracy theories, he's looking at the evidence from an entirely logical and evidence based point of view.
His point is that the coronavirus has 'gain of function' additives which could only – stress only – have been added in a lab. He backs up his conclusions with proof which seems convincing to my unscientific mind.
Whether all this feeds into Trump's paranoia and politicising, he makes no comment on.
The forensic evidence points to natural causes….I'll go with the evidence
Please watch the video before commenting – from about the 18 minute mark.
no need to waste 18 minutes….those studying the virus (and without political motives) have determined it is natural in origin…if they change their minds I will re-evaluate.
I've been listening to it for the past 38 min as I'm typing here. Martenson makes a logical and documented case.
And I’m curious how you know the other nameless experts you are relying on are ‘without political motives’.
If you spent a fraction of the energy on seeking out scientific opinion as you do conspiracy hunting you would find ample
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-scientists-think-the-novel-coronavirus-developed-naturally-not-in-a-chinese-lab/
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/health/coronavirus-is-natural-in-origin-who/1826213
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200317175442.htm
https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-05-09/was-the-coronavirus-made-in-a-wuhan-lab-heres-what-the-genetic-evidence-shows
The first link relies on the idea that the closest known bat virus is decades apart in evolutionary terms, but selectively omits that it's routine procedure to force evolution in the lab in a matter of days.
The second link is just reporting assertions with no data
The third link is a re-run of the spike protein optimisation argument that Martenson suggests is not as water tight as being pretended.
The fourth link uses the argument that purposeful genetic manipulation always leaves behind 'telltale fingerprints', which is also not true. The method for avoiding this has been known since 2002, and is well known.
Now my quick scan of your four references is not terribly conclusive, except that even with my very limited understanding I can spot troubling questions and presuppositions in all of them. None of them even vaguely attempt to explain why the first major outbreak occurs in Wuhan, a city many hundreds of km from where the bloody bats live.
According to Chris Martenson, and I paraphrase,
All of the above can be done in a lab.
If you believe the above ‘natural’ selection process, I have a bridge for sale!
For a more scientific version, check out the video at about the 50 minute mark.
thats 4 very poor summaries
Suspect the only solution is a hammer and a nail
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018746806/what-makes-us-believe-conspiracy-theories
Agreed Pat. Human-mediated habitat destruction may have played a role in the formation of Covid-19; advocating that the virus was engineered in a lab is just (bat)shit-stirring – let's wait!
Watched the video at ~19 minutes, including Dr Martenson's first conclusion after 'analysing' "this Professor Holmes" statement:
The excitable Martenson accepted that statement, and then assigned equal likelihood to the contrary statement that 'the virus did originate in a lab', on the basis that there's no evidence either way. IMHO anyone still listening after that 'analysis' is wasting their time, me included.
Martenson is espousing a belief, and asserting that expert virologists are (deliberately) ignoring his ‘analysis’. The idea that Professor Holmes' job depends (somehow) on Holmes not understanding Martenson's belief is ludicrous – wacky stuff!
Martenson's smoking gun, the presence of a "polybasic furin cleavage site" encoded in the Covid-19 genome, was commented on over three months ago – it's nothing new.
https://www.virology.ws/2020/02/13/furin-cleavage-site-in-the-sars-cov-2-coronavirus-glycoprotein/
"…no clear evolutionary pathway has [yet] been identified that would explain the presence of COVID-19’s furin polybasic cleavage site…" – nevertheless, the idea that current molecular sequence databases magically contain a complete record of extant and transient/extinct coronavirus diversity – well, imagine!
"a bat manages to pass a coronavirus to a pangolin, one of only a few thousand left in the world,"
in a wet market where both species were present and in close contact
"which somehow manages to swap part of that virus with a variation already in the pangolin"
which has occurred and been documented on many previous occasions
"This then picks up other critical parts of the virus composition present in pangolins, and –"
see previous
"miracle of miracles – jumps from animals to humans."
previously occurred
"All of the above can be done in a lab."
not easily and only with considerable luck as explained in the linked articles from my previous post…indeed the odds are far greater of it occurring naturally than by design.
Do you own a bridge?
lol. My explanation sure does miss the make a bit – and that's because the science is way beyond me – in terms of explaining it.
But I hope you'll take the time to go to the video and the 50 minute make and spend a few minutes listening to the explanation given by Chris Martenson. Then get back to me.
Cheers.
What if there was a pangolin in the Wuhan lab which caught the virus from a bat and the pangolin was not disposed of properly and someone touched a piece of the pangolin or materials which were used in the disposal of the pangolin?
Without doubt the virus has occurred naturally and is not man made.
Does it really matter if the virus came from the lab or the Wuhan market?
How the virus jumped to humans from bats/pangolins is what I would like to know?
Huh? How can one (e.g. you) be so absolutely 100% sure of this? Has anybody isolated it from a (its?) natural source other than infected humans and now cats, it appears?
If it was man-made we wouldn’t have to worry about how exactly it jumped species, would we?
If it wasn't a natural source I think that this would have been picked up with the sequencing.
The virus is seen in bats, pangolins, humans and cats. There is a clue that the virus does jump in a natural way as it has jumped from humans to cats.
Nothing is 100% with science.
How would sequencing pick that up?
Incorrect! The virus is not seen in bats and pangolins; there are similar viruses found in these species but they are not identical and definitely not close enough to be called “the virus”. There are some interesting questions hanging over the origin of RaTG13 based on close analysis and inspection of its genome (i.e. by sequencing). AFAIK, all reports of infected cats have been controlled experimental studies in the lab and large cats in zoos (https://thestandard.org.nz/dont-infect-your-feline-master/) and human-to-cat transfer, not the other way round. In any case, this is the same virus that jumps, not a similar one.
I said human to cat transmission.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-05-08/Latest-finding-of-the-novel-coronavirus-origin-bat-and-pangolin-Qku7BSHP5m/index.html
I have not read a closer fit than the theory that a bat gave the virus to a pangolin and a pangolin is the likely transmission to a human host.
When it comes to what reservoir caused AIDS, Ebola, MERs and similar viruses a lot is still unknown. Maybe there is a connection and this needs research.
I cannot fix the link.
[Link fixed]
Yes, I know you said that but the important (to me) point was that this is the same virus. They have yet to figure out where it came from and how and when it jumped and from which species to human.
Indeed, more research is needed and not just on SARS-COVID-2.
I’ve fixed the link.
Except observing gradually increasing numbers of people with pneumonia isn't quite as obvious as the firing range analogy would suggest. Analogies do have their limits.
Did China act suspiciously slowly? I'm not so sure on that – they coded the sequence pretty quickly, got WHO in towards the end of January ISTR. Yeah, they did some "in denial" initially, but that seems to be common practise these days – very few of the top-tier nations can throw stones in that regard, so maybe China simply had the same motives as around half the members of the G7/8.
AND they released the genome sequence publicly early.
How early? When do you know they first had it? Only by knowing that you can say it was 'early' or not.
Sequencing these days is remarkably fast; once there were cases in other countries it was only a matter of days before the sequence became public domain anyway.
This is dated Jan 11
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/01/china-releases-genetic-data-new-coronavirus-now-deadly
Chinese scientists submitted the gene sequencing data for posting on Virological.org, a hub for prepublication data designed to assist with public health activities and research. Earlier this week, they announced that they had isolated and fully sequenced the virus, setting off calls for full release of the details. The post was communicated by Edward Holmes, PhD, with the University of Sydney, on behalf of a Chinese group led by Yong-Zhen Zhang, PhD, with Fudan University in Shanghai.
The first known case is now thought to be back in November 13.
The first cases known outside of China was in Thailand early in January
This means there was a potential 8 week window in which the virus could have been sequenced in China before it reached the rest of the world.
In fact it was published in the very last week of that window. Holding this up as virtuously 'early' doesn't seem impressive to me.
May be not that impressive, BUT if you are developing a bioweapon why publish the plans?
Because the virus comes with it's own plan, once it got out of China it was a matter of days before everyone had it anyway.
Nor is anyone here using the term 'bioweapon' because that implies malicious intent. Because to date we have no trusted investigation, and no evidence based chain of events, no-one should yet be claiming this virus was intended to have a military purpose.
But that is quite different to ruling out a lab origin.
Oh come on – there's a massive difference between a known case of a new syndrome and a retrospective diagnosis.
@McF
Yes there is a massive difference; that's why I was careful to use the term 'potential window'. Yes it's highly unlikely anyone would have sequenced the new virus back in November, but equally releasing it just before it was going to become public domain anyway really doesn't mean much.
In essence it comes back to knowing exactly when Chinese first had a sequence for it, and until you know that for certain any notion of 'early' is arbitrary.
"Early" is always a relative term, but when judging actions it usually is in reference to something that could be known at the time.
24 december first test of an unresolved clinical case throws up the issue. Alert raised a few days later. Sequence released 11 jan.
I mean, good luck with pretending that the first case was identified as a new disease and covered up for six weeks. The coverup is plausible – we've seen it from a variety of regimes. Identifying case #1 at the time? Not so much, especially if it looks like pneumonia and is in winter.
Wrong. The first case was on December the 27th in Paris,spread by a food hall worker returning from a Xmas trip to Wuhan to a co-worker who gave it to her husband. Nice Chrissy pressie. All as widely reported a few weeks ago.
Now, if you can't even get that right, where does all this bat-shit crazy stuff come from. Out of the arse of some foaming RW nutjob?
[Please keep your tone civil, thanks – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 1:05 PM.
@Adrian
Indeed. The cases in Thailand were the ones recognised early, while the case in Paris has only been found in retrospect within the past week, so for the purpose of my argument it is absolutely irrelevant.
Hence the first cases outside of China that were diagnosed and could have been sequenced by non-Chinese researchers were sometime in mid January, which doesn't change the timeline at all.
In reality the Chinese lab in Shanghai (apparently shut down since) probably did the right thing and published the sequence pretty much when they first got it in early January. But to then claim this was somehow virtuously ‘early’, when the damned virus had already gone global is kind of stretching it.
As for my sources, I’ve been open on this for months. I am close to a well connected Chinese family, who have been conveying all this and much more to me since mid January.
Do you know if the genome sequence has been checked independently?
What do you mean? Samples from patients have been sequenced all around the world, including New Zealand. Unless the Chinese scientists share the original sample for independent sequencing, it is just a long sequence of four letters. The similarity between the published original sequence and subsequent patient samples is very high.
So checking has been done.
As for the original sequence sample I will give China the benefit of the doubt unless proven to be otherwise.
Yes i read a detailed account of how they could track the speed of the virus by the characteristics of the genome.
I put a comment here a while back.
Well, yes, and the so-called phylogenetic tree of the human cases is highly consistent with the published first sequence. None of this, however, proves anything about the true origin of the virus and where/how it allegedly jumped to humans.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/05/08/1158204/the-new-zealand-strains-how-the-coronavirus-got-here
Well, do people outside this lab have contact with bats? Are you suggesting the virus came first?
Why not ask the French since it’s a joint French/Chinese research facility? Or do idiot levels of xenophobia simply not extend beyond Asian peoples to European ones?
The US outsourced it's bat virus research to China, too.
Newsweek recently put out some surprising reports that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) had funded the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The WIV is the level four research facility suspected by some of being a possible source for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already been on record confirming and defending this funding, saying it was “to protect American people from labs that aren’t up to standard.”
[…]
A third reason could be the fact that the United States has long held a fierce debate about the ethics and risks of gain-of-function (GOF) research. Critics, such as Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch, have argued that such work “entails a unique risk that a laboratory accident could spark a pandemic, killing millions.” These objections motivated the Obama administration to halt all domestic GOF research in 2011, a restriction that was later lifted in 2017, following the implementation of new safety protocols. Although we do not know exactly what went into the decision to fund the WIV during this moratorium, it is likely that domestic restrictions may have played a role, forcing the proponents of such work to seek opportunities abroad. These proponents are of the opinion that GOF research is worth the risk, being the best way to understand, prevent, and treat pandemics, an argument that is not without merit
https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/why-would-the-us-have-funded-the-controversial-wuhan-lab/
https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/why-us-outsourced-bat-virus-research-to-wuhan/
The French were involved in designing and building the WIV facility but not operating it.
As for the 'idiot levels of xenophobia' my Chinese friends would like to explain that not all Chinese think the CCP is wonderful. They find the idea that they all think exactly alike a little bit patronising.
Thank God Australia is breaking through all thise po-faced Chinese "you can't criticise us" crap.
New Zealand is reportedly among 62 nations that have come together to back Australia's call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian newspaper reported that it had obtained a draft resolution to be put to the World Health Assembly on Tuesday which was backed by key nations including India, Japan, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, and all 27 EU member states.
It demands World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus "initiate at the earliest appropriate moment … a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of the international response to the pandemic, the actions of the WHO and its timeline of the pandemic.
Yes my perspective here is probably coloured not just by my close contacts with Chinese locally, but because I'm reading a lot more Australian media than many people here.
One thing that is quite remarkable is this CCP 'wolf warrior' diplomacy the CCP let loose in April, and just how many nations they have gone out of their way to pick a fight with in just the past six weeks. Here in Australia alone they have shutdown imports from four major abbatoirs on transparently bogus 'technical' grounds, are in the process of an absurd 80% tariff on barley (apparently due to govt subsidises), have threatened to go to Brazil for iron ore and beef, and are now hinting that Chinese will not 'want' to visit Australia nor send their children to University here.
And Australia is by no means the only nation being threatened like this, the list is growing almost daily. Even NZ has gotten the treatment over Winston's proposal that Taiwan should be recognised by WHO.
Much of this will turn out to be bluster, but then last week when Trump mused about 'shutting down the entire relationship with China', official state media reported senior CCP officials saying that if that happened then there would be no restraint stopping them from a military invasion of Taiwan.
None of this strikes me as a China acting from a position of strength and confidence. The theory most plausible at the moment is the CCP is striving hard to inflame domestic nationalistic passions that can be directed toward internal repression, and maintenance of political control in the one party state.
"The embassy in Canberra declined to comment on a report in the Nine newspapers on Thursday of suspicions within senior ranks of the government and the intelligence community about a staffer’s possible role."
Blame a junior staffer has become popular of late. Usually interns or on short-term contracts, thus expendable. Also privacy law means you can never name them. Keeps the theory conjectural – anonymity plus obfuscation covers up reliably.
Rudd advises not drawing conclusions "until all the facts are on the table". Reminds us why he was such a spectacular failure as PM. Has anyone ever seen China put all the facts on the table about anything? Of course not. Nor the US, in recent memory.
You're suggesting that the wish to have all facts on the table before accusing another nation of the most dire malevolent actions disqualifies him from public office?
Jesus, no wonder we have politicians of such low calibre these days
No, just pointing to the fact that wishing to have all the facts on the table (about anything) is merely wishful thinking. An intelligent person would realise that before making a fool of themselves in public, right?
I fully support the democratic right of wishful thinkers to have political careers, of course. Likewise the mentally ill. Those who complain about Trump having no right to be doing his deranged thing are exhibiting their discrimination against mentally-challenged folk…
Rudd didn't ask himself, what would the Generalissimo have done? An horrible herror.
Thanks for the links francesca. To me the topic is summed up nicely at the end of the first link:
It not just simplicity. It's politics – as opposed to a well researched scientific explanation which is not yet complete.
A handful of leaders have good cause to introduce conspiracy theories despite the fact there is no evidential backing for them. Leading the charge is Trump. That tells me it is designed to cover his own appalling record of narcissism, arrogance, incompetence, stupidity and incoherence reminiscent of a two year old having a tantrum.
Leading the charge is Trump. That tells me it is designed to cover his own appalling record of narcissism, arrogance, incompetence, stupidity and incoherence reminiscent of a two year old having a tantrum.
Which is all true of Trump.
But this does not speak to anything that happened in Wuhan or the subsequent actions of the CCP to close down any investigation. Trump's stupidity and incoherence does not erase the known perfidy of the CCP.
And besides the work being done by many people trying to independently understand the origin of SARS-COV-2 was underway months before Trump got onto the bandwagon.
No, it does not speak to what happened in Wuhan, but Trump is the one spreading the conspiracies (together with his influential supporters in the media and elsewhere) and he isn't doing so out of genuine concern to trace the origin of the virus.
We don't yet know the truth of what happened in Wuhan but I'll wager a bet it was never part of the sinister conspiracy Trump and co. are trying to generate in an attempt to detract from his miserable performance.
One theory I heard sometime back which has a grain of plausibility:
this research centre in Wuhan might have been offloading some of its ' specimens' to the wet markets once they no longer had any use for them. Now, if that proved to be the case, it wouldn't surprise me if China is trying to keep it under wraps.
I'll wager a bet any country including America would do the same thing under the same circumstances. That's not a conspiracy though. It's a guilty conscience that the local Chinese authorities took their eyes off the ball.
There are a whole range of possibilities; everything from an engineered bio-weapon through to naturally occurring mutation, with a LOT of possibilities in between. At this point in time I'm willing to accept they're all in play, no-one has conclusively ruled anything in or out.
But right from the outset the CCP has been acting as if they had something to hide. Sure there has been cooperation and apparent transparency where it aligns with their self-serving narrative, but no rigorous independent outside scrutiny by a trusted authority. Every week that has gone by has reduced the chance of anyone ever finding out the truth of this matter, and over time the CCP can probably count of people not caring enough to insist.
Maybe Stalin was right when he said "the death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions a statistic".
How does the Chinese government behaviour differ from that of any other nation that has hidden the extent of its problem, gamed the data or testing to keep apparent numbers low, or simply claimed to have a minimal problem while its all-cause mortality rate seems to have gone through the roof?
If the first outbreak had been in Auckland, our govt had badly mishandled it so that it got loose in the world, and then refused to engage with any independent accountability … would you be making the same excuse?
Or do special rules apply to the CCP?
It was a pretty simple question.
Asking for comparisons to the behaviour of countries like the US or Russia is quite the opposite of making excuses and a double standard for China.
Was it the question you objected to, or was it merely the answer that initially came to your mind?
Will Star Wars be coming to New Zealand? Sounds far fetched but there is increasing speculation (not just this entertainment article) that our government's response could reap big rewards with the risk averse international film industry.
Apparently, the NZ guilds and safety industry worked very hard to get their work protocol document signed off by Work Safe. A government sanctioned system in a one state country looks very attractive to both producers and cast alike.
Capacity is an issue though.
They made those prequels in Aus, so why not. I just wish our big flash directors made NZ movies again, instead of easy cash cows.
Jojo rabbit was a NZ movie, Nelson author and huge number of Kiwis fought to stop the stupidity.
Wasn't a NZ story, which is what I meant. I also thought JoJo Rabbit was shite, had some laughs, but pretty Carry On really (yet I loved Thor Ragnarok so I'm not total kill joy). Looking forward to the Luminaries tonight.
An idea moving forward . Move to a 4 on 4 off working week. Business open 7 days spreads the congestion over 7 days ,rather than 5 full on 2 less so. Increased employment opportunities And 4 day weekends will encourage more getaways to enhance local tourism. Work and life would be in balance.
My statistician son has filled me in on a very comprehensive survey of the pandemic in Spain. Out of 230,000 cases and 29,000 deaths it leaves a mortality rate of 1.15%, almost exactly the same as NZs.
But the key finding was that only 5% of the Spanish population were exposed to it which shoots down the whole "herd immunity" bullshit, unless you are happy to let it run wild and kill 1.15% of your population which in our case would be about 54,000 dead.
So the projections that Jacinda and co were presented with were pretty accurate, so thank you very much to the Labour Government and the brilliant advisory team for keeping us safe and saving us all of the anguish and grieving.
"Out of 230,000 cases and 29,000 deaths it leaves a mortality rate of 1.15%, almost exactly the same as NZs."
That's 12.6% by my calculator
Of the population, sorry should have clearer.
Spain's population is somewhere around 46 to 47 million and 29,000 deaths (worldometers.info has it 27,500 at the moment) I can't see how you got the mortality rate of 1.15%… that would mean somewhere around 500,000 deaths.
My guess is someone used the 5% of exposed population in Spain, so around 2,3 million and 29,000 deaths. How do you precisely determine the “exposed population”?
For me doing forward estimates the mortality is the number of know COVID19 related deaths by the number of known COVID19 cases. And therefore the number is for many countries closer to 10% than 1% (worldometer has a global average of 15%) and will probably reduce over time when the number cases will increase retrospectively (unknown asymptomatic cases at the moment, but known cases in the future, for example determined by blood-tests).
Not following your maths Adrian. 29,000 deaths / 230,000 infections = 12.6% 'mortality rate' for Spain, based on your numbers, so not sure where the "mortality rate of 1.15%" comes from. The apparent death rate in NZ is 21 deaths / 1,150 confirmed infections = 1.8%, or 1.4% if you include probable cases/infections.
IMHO (and from my point of view) our government, public service health workers, and the NZ public in general have done an outstanding job of moderating the impact of Covid-19 on the health and welfare of NZers – long may that continue.
+1000 even with barfly’s correction
Adrian plus 1000
Back in the day, people were obliged to read the Bible. If, like me, you had this brainwashing forced upon you, treat yourself to a fun literary nostalgia trip: https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/a-pandemic-parable
Oscar Kightley: "to some people, broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan is the devil." Probably because they haven't noticed his lack of horns & forked tail.
"You could hardly accuse Morgan of being a bleeding heart, liberal, SWJ, leftie socialist. He probably has more in common with Mike Hosking than, say, John Campbell. And yet even Morgan says that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has done a great job leading the country through the global Covid19 pandemic. Furthermore, Morgan wishes the UK had a leader like Ardern." https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/121535321/the-worlds-turned-upside-down-when-piers-morgan-praises-jacinda-ardern
Well, there you go. Evidence of cross-over appeal established. Goldsmith will have to become heroic to prevail. I bet he doesn't know how.
Piers may have become less cunty because he can't threaten to sic his reporters on people he hates. Unlike the Generalissimo he doesn't have the apparatus of a fascist state backing him (officially).
Wrong way round too, sport.
https://twitter.com/brahaminda/status/1261657076432089089
Has anyone with a bit of knowledge on the matter got any idea of what is likely to happen with the NZME's attempt to take over Stuff, and what the implications are?
It's giving me the willies!
Stuff told them to fuck off in no uncertain terms. No idea what happens next though.
Read this from Stuff's political editor. It's extraordinary.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/121506766/govt-wont-bail-out-media-but-stuff-has-other-dance-partners
Wow – that's hugely helpful – thanks Weka
Let's see what that editorial writer says when the actual government rescue package arrives.
The government has both cash carrot and regulatory and legislative sticks in play already. All the power to reorganise the mainstream media to survive 2020 is with Chris Fa'afoi now.
Guerilla warfare by the 5G Liberation Front seems to be escalating. RNZ news at noon reported 17 tower attacks recently.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300014192/fires-at-cell-phone-tower-power-box-in-south-auckland-investigated
Are super spreaders just loud mouths?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300014255/coronavirus-speaking-loudly-could-help-spread-covid19-study-finds
Russia plays footsie with nazis, again.
//
On May 5, Allison, whose real name is being withheld for her safety, received a strange DM. It was from a woman she didn’t know, who informed her that she was on a disturbing website that was compiling information about white women in interracial relationships.
When she went to the website, she found her name, photos, and social media handles under the label “traitors.”
“It was weird, and strange, and creepy,” said Allison, 28. “I was thinking, ‘Who takes the time to do this?’”
The website names, shames, and effectively promotes violence against interracial couples and families — and it’s been circulated in some of the darkest corners of the internet, including in neo-Nazi Discord servers and accelerationist Telegram channels.
[…]
The website was created in April but was taken offline after their initial hosting provider cut ties with them. They then found a home with one of Russia’s largest domain registrars, R01. VICE News contacted R01 on Tuesday to ask whether the site violated their policies. An hour later, the site was taken offline, but as of Wednesday morning it was back up. Tatiana Agafonova, a spokesperson for R01, wrote in an email that the company would “diligently render its services to customers” unless a court rules otherwise or they’re contacted by law enforcement.
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/n7ww4w/white-supremacists-built-a-website-to-doxx-interracial-couples-and-its-going-to-be-hard-to-take-down
There are always post-budget polls in NZ. This year?
I wonder if Mediaworks have the cash. Otherwise it's just Colmar Brunton and TVNZ. And the fewer public polls there are, the more "private" polls get used to fill the gap (as we've seen with the UMR 29% story).
Sun/Mon night, we'll find out. Save Our Simon!
I am sure that when a party is not doing well they would want polls being kept to a minimum months out from an election.
This is Trump's America…
F**kin sick!
..and barking..
USA Covid-19 update.
Cases: 1,507,773
Deaths: 90,113
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
1 sneeze away from > Vietnam + Korea combined
It must feel like waiting round to die. Hat tip to the sadly not immortal Townes van Zandt.
I am sure most (if not everyone) would support the wage subsidy that the govt implemented, a few less on the extension. Given the urgency of the situation at the time, I am pleasantly taken back by effectiveness of the response. BUT I hope that there is adequate follow up on those companies gaming the generosity of this country.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/121148182/coronavirus-wage-subsidy-biggest-money-scramble-nz-has-seen
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/business/restaurant-chain-good-group-makes-more-than-150-workers-redundant/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/121500097/farmers-slammed-for-taking-covid19-wage-subsidies
Herodotus, you forgot to publish the repayments.
Comedian Jim Carrey has a cough and a runny nose.
"Our form on this is deeply discouraging. We have already spent some $40b on Christchurch’s rebuild from its earthquakes – and the job’s far from complete. But all we’ve done is create a pleasant replica of a mid-20th century city. Not an exhilarating example of a 21st century city, with all the amenities, technology and liveability that would offer."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/05/17/1173269/lets-buy-the-best
a pleasant (badly built) replica at that…
"If our businesses and government wonder how New Zealand could follow some of Vivid’s recommendations, they need look no further than The Green Covid Response written by Greenpeace New Zealand."
Greenpeace…not the Greens
"The worry is the coalition parties actually don’t know how to do that."
Cheers to Rod Oram.
He has the temerity to suggest this government should have future-focused ideals and form a plan that will deliver them.
Wilmes was Minister of Budget in the prior government when austerity measures were introduced.
Prime minister Sophie Wilmès received a cold reception from staff at the Saint Peter hospital in Brussels yesterday on an official visit, when staff formed a reception committee and turned their backs on her ministerial car on arrival.
[…]
The dialogue with the nursing staff and other front-line workers appeared slightly different on her arrival, however. As her car entered the Saint Peter hospital grounds and made its way to the entrance, a double row of health care workers lining the route ostentatiously turned their backs on her arrival, in what some observers described as a “guard of dishonour”.
Representatives later explained that front-line workers were disappointed in the government’s handling of the crisis, and its approach to health care in general, including issues such as budget cuts, low salaries and staff shortages. They are also unhappy about the government’s attempts to recruit unqualified staff to provide support to nursing personnel, rather than pay for trained professionals.
https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/112032/prime-minister-gets-a-chilly-reception-from-hospital-staff/
https://theconversation.com/amp/the-costs-of-the-shutdown-are-overestimated-theyre-outweighed-by-its-1-trillion-benefit-138303
Good read. Keen to see if that estimate upon which it's all based of 60% population infection to get to herd immunity holds up.
This is the kind of analysis we need from similar academics for New Zealand.
https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/balance-of-trade
balance of trade seasonal…look at the long run data and you will see the pattern is (as yet) unchanged
Yet to be seen I suppose. The current account is on that site also.
Personally I don't think our, net! overseas earnings will be much affected.
So many things balance out.
from tourism at least it appears not to any great extent…there are still other areas that have a negative net impact….then there is likely commodity deflation to contend with.
Hopefully much of that reduced activity will parallel property deflation.
Land deflation would be a good thing to come out of this.
Though we can already see the attempts, to get "high net worth immigrants" to keep the land speculation gravy train going.