"This level of immune evasion means that Omicron poses a major, imminent threat to public health."
Can we start off with asking some basic questions as to why this is an imminent threat, like what is the omegacron fatality rate? They admit in the article even that the data is poor.
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH is a dizzying thing. In the week to December 8th Britain saw 536 new cases of covid-19 ascribed to the Omicron variant, less than 0.5% of the number caused by the dominant Delta variant. But the week before there had been only 32 cases of Omicron—and by December 14th the case number was over 10,000. Omicron looks set to become the country’s dominant strain in terms of cases before advent calendars run out of windows.
Cases lag behind infections. On December 13th Britain’s health minister, Sajid Javid, said that there were estimated to have been 200,000 infections in the country that day, most of them Omicron. Three more doublings and the total number of infections a day will be more than 1m.
[…]
The degree to which the variant can infect the previously infected may also make things look rosier than they really are. Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at Emory University, points out that Omicron’s success at reinfecting people may give the impression a smaller fraction gets severely ill just by inflating the denominator. It could thus seem more benign even if, among those contracting covid for the first time, it were just as dangerous as Delta (see chart).
Can we start off with asking some basic questions as to why this is an imminent threat
Dr Michael Ryan on Covid – speed trumps perfection
The emergency response will know this. If you need to be right before you move, You will never win. Perfection is the enemy of the good when it comes to emergency management speed trumps perfection. And the problem in society, we have, at the moment is everyone is afraid of making a mistake? Everyone is afraid of the consequence of error, But the greatest error is not to move. The greatest error is to be paralysed by the fear of failure. And I think that's the single biggest lesson I've learnt in Ebola responses in the past.
You suggest that an "Abundance of caution" is the best stance 'till we know more.
That is of course an approach that advocates that we shouldn't do anything until we are quite certain of the best thing to do. It was the approach we have followed to date in that we didn't order any vaccines till very late in the piece. We didn't go ahead and get additional ICU beds in the hospitals. We didn't admit health care workers into the country by getting our immigration services into action.
Instead we simply locked everything down and did nothing to prepare for the virus getting into the country except to say that if we gave a lot of vaccination jabs everyone would be protected and we would all be free and we would have nothing else to worry about.
That was of course what this commenter was warning about. He says
"But the greatest error is not to move. The greatest error is to be paralysed by the fear of failure"
We are now paralysed. We haven't even got enough vaccination doses to give everyone a third dose have we? We only really have enough to finish of the two-jab procedure and we certainly don't have enough to give everyone a third. We don't have more ICU beds. We don't have increased medical personnel. We should have all these things already. They shouldn't just go on with the recital that everything is just peachy. Do something NOW is the thesis being proposed. It isn't arguing for an "abundance of caution".
Rubbish. Finding out the facts before a decision is sensible. Nobody said "Stand still" That is your position taken as a rebuttal, putting words in my mouth. Stop repeating the lie about the vaccine roll out.
The point is that when delta first appeared in this country the government placed the country in level 4 lockdown. they didn't wait around to figure out the "best" measure to to take, but put in place a measure known to to be good..
The original lockdown was vey sensible and the right thing to do. We were an isolated country and it would work.
You will remember of course that it was an all-party decision and not something the Labour did by themselves. It was something that was strongly promoted by both National and New Zealand First wasn't it? Or do you choose to forget them?
Indeed there were rumours that Labour had to be forced to take action. At the time there were rumours that Bloomfield had threatened to resign unless the Labour led Government cancelled the Memorial gathering in Christchurch and the Pasifica festival. I have no idea whether there was anything in those rumours but at least they were finally scrapped at the last moment.
Unfortunately that was the last thing that was done properly. Since then they simply frozen up like possums in a spotlight. It was a pity they cut Winston out of the action in the latter part of their term.
It was what went on after the original lockdown that was badly handled and you will see that it was those things that I have been talking about.
There was something unreal about it all when that first national lockdown happened. I went out early one morning for a walk and there was still lots of traffic around.
Going thru my gifs I was surprised to find I'd made one of that walk
Yep. I seem to remember they were all over the place on lockdowns & financial support measures initially, before finally deciding to support the PM. (The polls were clear that the great majority of NZers supported lockdown.)
Alwynger Still pushing the John Key lie, as Pfizer pointed out We could not get our vaccines any earlier.Europe and the US banned exports until they had enough for themselves and considering 100's and 1,000's were dying in the US and the EU it would have been very selfish of us.
But you represent the selfish alwyn.
by repeating the lie you think people will believe your pathetic trumpist bs.
We are in a much better position by vaccinating later because of waning immunity Giving us better immunity than countries who have rolled out early combined with our high rates 90% plus .
That has saved 10's of thousands of lives.
Like 2.44 million doses ready for boosting with more arriving.Thats from your link. Maybe you should read your own links before you make a complete idiot of yourself. Where is the lack of booster doses thats a straight up lie.alwynger.
Half way through November you made claims we wouldn't get to 90% another of your lies.
I don't see anything I said about the vaccine rollout that was a lie
But full of your opinion which repeats RW talking points. Mickysavage reported on Matt Nippert's objective assessment …
is extraordinarily good and manages to capture the essence of what has been an extraordinarily complex project well. And it exposes that National’s continuous attacks are lies should be treated with the same amount of respect as Tobacco Lobbyist claims that smoking does not cause cancer.
I watched a bit of Al Jazeera tv news late last night (1st time in quite a few weeks). They showed a hospital in Scotland where the ICU nurses are pleading for people to get vaxed & observe social distancing & mask wearing because the nursing staff are physically & mentally exhausted caring for critical-care Covid-19 patients.
And they can’t get any more trained nursing staff from anywhere. Right around the world there’s an acute shortage of nursing staff; because of Covid, every hospital everywhere is trying to recruit more & can’t get them.
Even if Immigration NZ was allowing hospitals to recruit overseas, I’m not sure how many we could actually. The biggest drawcard until Delta got here was that we’d successfully kept Covid out. It sure wasn’t our nurses pay rates, or cheap housing or rentals here.
Getting visas through INZ is not that hard, the issue is then getting them MIQ spots. I gather Minister Little has intervened, but why it took this long to make that happen is a mystery to me.
Concerns not just from that side but also from opposing sides. It is staggering that the ordinary person not in "the tent" is so easily lied to or fed with confusing statements.
Culture vultures have something to pick at & dine on here:
early 1999, and people were freaking out about the future. A new millennium was on the way, carrying with it the promise – or threat – of massive change. Would the next century guide us toward a tech-enabled utopia? Or, as some feared, would it plunge the world into a full-on apocalypse? These were strange days, marked by equal parts anxiety and anticipation. Which made it the perfect moment for a sleek, cerebral movie called The Matrix.
Created by a pair of mostly unknown filmmakers (Lana and Lilly Wachowski), and headlined by a commercially iffy star (Keanu Reeves), the $60m cyber-thriller became an instant hit.
A circa-’99 glimpse of the notorious fan-site Ain’t It Cool News hints at some of the questions moviegoers were asking at the time: “Are we being controlled by our computers?” “If the Matrix is real, what can you do about it?”
Yeah, that's the question still. The one in the movie was likely intended as dramatisation of the one in real life. We emerge from birth into a family matrix, some of us into a tribal matrix, and adolescence shifts us into a broader socio-cultural matrix. Then politics imposes a political matrix (the democracy prison, for us).
Some of us become adept at transcending each matrix to live as global citizens. Others grow old & die in mental worlds confined by their matrix. Life on autopilot is easy for many.
When Elon Musk implored his millions of Twitter followers to “Take the red pill” last year, it prompted a response from both Ivanka Trump (“Taken!”) and Lilly Wachowski herself (“Fuck both of you”).
The fact that “red-pilling” has taken on such dopily spiteful connotations is, for Matrixfans, a bummer: after all, one of the joys of the Wachowskis’ original films was its open-minded vision of society.
Neo and his partner, Trinity (played by Carrie-Anne Moss), treat each other with a level of mutual respect that’s rarely seen in male-female big-screen relationships, even to this day. And they work alongside a multi-gender, multi-racial team of rebels. For all of its grim shoot-’em-up scenes and killer machines, The Matrixis a deeply hopeful film: one that pushes the value of caring for one another, and the freedom that comes from defining who you really are (since its release, the filmhas been embraced as a trans allegory – a reading supported by none other than Lana Wachowski).
Still, the ultimate sign of The Matrix’s ongoing importance, as well as its predictive powers, is the fact that, more than two decades after its release, it’s becoming harder to tell if we’re living with The Matrix, or within it.
Best to be pragmatic rather than paranoid. The control system can be viewed as an historical product of social evolution rather than something deliberately created to exploit the masses. It's actually both, but the ruling cabal thesis (Illuminati) is too theoretical in comparison to the plethora of actual orgs dedicated to operating social control systems. Realpolitik informs us that the overall matrix is multidimensional.
Ice-free Arctic late in ’23, resulting in rapid heating of the earth.
Massive (and I mean MASSIVE) climate disruption in ’24, world-wide famine, world-wide deaths, world-wide migration, world-wide local conflicts. Plus 400+ unattended, un-decommissioned nuclear power plants around the world.
Gosh, I'd like to be that optimistic but when I recall how many times I've already lived through imminent global system crashes, then been bemused by the system's resilient survival, I just can't help being cautiously pessimistic…
I guess that you are like me and can remember Al Gore proposing in 2009 that
"Some of the models suggest that there is a 75% chance that the entire north polar ice cap, during some of the summer months, could be completely ice-free within the next five to seven years."
Whatever did happen to Al Gore anyway? Has he settled down to enjoy his millions.
Gore also said he was hopeful about recent actions by business groups such as the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, a group of investors with $43 trillion in assets that have joined a push to limit greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.
He criticized announcements by U.S. energy company Chevron about expanding capacity of renewable natural gas (RNG), or gas captured at landfills and from agricultural waste. "That's ridiculous. There is no such thing," Gore said about so-called renewable natural gas.
One is to say thank you for telling me this. After all I did ask.
The second is to think "I wish he hadn't" I had rather hoped that he was by now gone and forgotten. I imagine he still turns up in a gas guzzling private jet to lecture us mere plebs on how bad we are.
Another measure the Govt could introduce to cool down the property market.
Stamp duties on valuations.
Singapore is exempted from the NZ foreign buyers ban.
'ABSD rate, however, will be raised to 17% for SCs second residential purchase, 25% on their third and subsequent purchases.
For SPRs, the rate will be raised to 25% on their second purchase, and 30% on their third and subsequent purchases.
Rate will also be raised to 30% for foreigners purchasing any residential property; and 35% for entities purchasing any residential property and developers purchasing any residential property.'
Singapore is exempted from the NZ foreign buyers ban.
There are also several ways for foreign investors to get around the ban, said Shamubeel Eaqub, an economist at Sense Partners, a consultancy in Auckland. Because of pre-existing trade agreements, Australians, who make up the largest portion of foreign buyers in New Zealand, are exempt, as are citizens of Singapore. And the law doesn’t apply to new homes.
It's quite surprising the number of birds that do, Patricia.
I'm out there at the stream fence several times nearly every day, certainly every fine day. I'm often standing underneath a tree, surrounded by its foliage.
I feed the waterbirds and any other birds that like seeds or bread chunks. And I just calmly talk to them all in a soft voice, using the same phrases, which most seem to learn.
I think I just become part of the scenery for them. They know I'm no threat and I don't try and pat them (well, I have tried, but I don't persist if they hop away, which they pretty much all do).
I could put half a dozen wheat grains into the palm of my hand for Ivan, when he perched on the fence like that, and hold it out to him. He just hoovered them up from my palm and waited for more.
We had a parrot to look after once. He was a handsome green Alexandrine parakeet. He talked. (We were in Caloundra.)
"Joe likes apple APPLE." "Joe is a handsome boy, hop up on Mummy's shoulder. Don't bite Mummy!" He used to copy Dale's call to Molly the dog who was then taking a pill wrapped in cheese. "Molly here Molly Cheeese!!" Molly knew the difference though. When I would clean his cage he would hang by one leg and comment "Been a mucky boy Joe" Really a laugh, as he would look directly at you with a beady black eye, head cocked to the side. He was twenty and they live 40 years, so entertaining. He had his wing feathers clipped, so when they let him out he would walk round with their 3 little dogs. They never bothered him and tolerated him walking around on the tiled floor with them.
Demolition of the sole source of Uighur genocide manufactured data may constitute sympathising in yours and wikipaedias books but for others, getting at the lies that buttress US and Western great power competition are more important. Adrien Zenz is an idiot fundamentalist christian who is on record stating both that he is on a mission from god to destroy China and that armageddon is a precondition for gods intervention in this world. With magical fairies. Highlighting this and his crass manipulation of data, supported by another rapture enthusiast, Mike Pompeo, was a job well done by the grayzone. But it sure made them enemies in high places.
Well I guess thats a start. At least you admit there is room for debate. Accusations of genocide by idiot extreme religionists dont deserve to be taken seriously. By the same token we dont take much notice of proclamations by Wahhabi mullahs, who also claim to be on the path of destroying nations, led by god. The ETIM, a Uighur terrorist group, affiliated to Al Qaeda, which was funded by the US to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and then went on to fight in Syria, returned home and turned their anti communist obsessions against the Chinese state. This is real verifiable news. Many people were killed in Xinjiang. I supplied a link above but you can read about it here from Vijay Prashad if you prefer. A common theme with religious nut jobs is their anti communist bent and they seem quite happy to join forces I guess safe in the knowledge that their god being the only god only they will be saved.
Your claim that Adrian Zenz is the sole source of information on this matter is patently silly and easily discredited. Pointless getting into a link battle with you on it though – anyone can use a search engine and make up their own minds if they're interested.
What is much less contentious is however the long and bitter record of communist oppression towards all religions it suspects of competing with it.
What is indisputable about all forms of extreme religion is that they preach salvation through destruction. Exyreme Christianity removes everything that Jesus said and places armageddon between the individual and salvation. Followers like Zenz and Pompeo then do gods work by promoting conditions most likely to bring on conflagration.
Our findings of a comparable or lower than expected YLL [Years lost] in Taiwan, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and South Korea underscore the importance of successful viral suppression and elimination policies, including targeted and population based public health policy interventions.[i.e. lockdowns!]
Tbh Cricklewood, I find pretty much everything that is published on Stuff disturbing.
And I know I'm the slow learner down the back of the class on this, but I still don't understand why we unjabbed pose such an horrendous risk to the double jabbed.
I am seriously beginning to wonder if the Pfizer Product has negatively affected some folks' cognitive function.
It's not an issue that perplexes me. I understand why the "unjabbed" pose a risk to the "double jabbed".
How about you, Sabine?
Have you a good understanding of why that is?
Your comment: “they pose a threat to the underfunded, understaffed, and under resourced Hospitals in our fair land.” goes part-way to explaining that risk and is fair, in my opinion.
but I still don't understand why we unjabbed pose such an horrendous risk to the double jabbed.
I think this is willful on your part. But, fwiw,
people who are double vaxed have a period of time where they are significantly less likely to get covid than people who are unvaxed
this lessens the numbers of people at any given time with covid
this protects people from getting covid (simple numbers game)
and it protects the health system
Quick reference,
According to the UK's Office for National Statistics, the AstraZeneca vaccine is 67 per cent effective against infection with Delta, while the Pfizer jab is 80 per cent effective.
Other preliminary research suggests there isn't much difference between the two, and that they both reduce the risk of infection by 80 per cent.
Estimates for vaccine effectiveness against infection vary considerably from country to country, and depend on the type of vaccine, the prevailing Covid-19 variant, and the time elapsed since the second vaccine.
Estimates vary from around 55 to 80 per cent, with most hovering around the 60-70 per cent mark.
What don't you understand about that? Less people with covid means less people get covid. Unvaxxed people are protected thus too.
It's also true that the more people are vaccinated the less the unvaccinated become a risk, statistically.
I suspect that some people fail to appreciate the collective nature of the public health response and are thinking more about individuals. Classic socialist vs libertarian.
but I still don't understand why we unjabbed pose such an horrendous risk to the double jabbed
Well, according to Jaccinda recently, the traffic lights with all the exclusion were to protect the unvaccinated from the vaccinated (I kid you not)
Though, it could be about an indirect threat to a vaccinated persons health if they were unable to get into a hospital because a virus with a fatality rate of 0.05% in the under 70 age group had landed a person without a vaccination in hospital with Covid. In the likely event they wind up in hospital for any other reason, then of course, they pose no threat.
I'm listening, but your explanations simply do not make much sense.
The Pfizer Product only works as a vaccine to prevent infection, transmission and serious illness and death if the vaccinated person only associates with other vaccinated persons.
Because only unvaccinated people can carry and transmit Te Virus and they can infect those who have been vaccinated with a product that claims to dramatically lower the risk of infection and dramatically lower the risk of serious illness and death but only if those vaccinated are kept separate from the unvaccinated…
I'm guessing they would justify it as having public interest, but seems a stretch to me. The article clearly explains that his role has little to do with public contact or spaces, and that he is attending meetings via zoom. That leaves staff, but there's no mandate on that organisation, so what's the point of the article other than to ostracise?
As the GM of HR (among other things), it's his department running the consultation on the proposed vaccine mandate policy. Probably still doubts over the advisability or legality of publishing a private citizen's vaccination status, but there would be at least a perceived conflict of interest internally.
Given councils have public facilities in terms of the Covid Protection Framework and those facilities require vaccine passes, it's a bit strange for the GM of facilities to not be vaccinated (his areas are "human resources; IT; facilities, property and planning; procurement; financial management and the Smart Christchurch programme").
On the question, I've heard rumours along those lines.
That is a wonderful number but would be almost too good to be true. Whatever, these relatively low numbers are a great way to start the last week before xmas. Has to be the effect of both widespread vaccination and many people still taking measures such as masks and social distancing seriously.
Weka, thank you for that great, simple and clear explanation of the collective nature of public health measures required to keep numbers down. I plead for people to think about the clear logic for what we are doing, and set to one side all the other noise around our country.
I'm referring to T V's comment "39 new cases today!" Patricia, not the life expectancy improvement @ 11:22am which I believe only covers the nations that have provided that number (can't find the reference sorry)
Died of Covid? according to Gezza's stuff article, diagnosed with Covid after they had died..? So, withcovid or with detected traces of the covid virus might be a better descriptor?
Yup. And I know the parents of one 9 year old have been told that unless injected, she can't do her drama classes next term.
Given that no children without serious co-morbidities have died from Covid…that even the BBC reported the chances of a child dying from Covid were 1 in 2 million alongside the NYT stating the risk was so low as to be incalculable….
Back to Tony’s statement re today’s numbers – The update today on the MoH Āwhina app tells us that the numbers are not a full 24 hours as they have changed from midnight to midnight rather than from 9am to 9am. I have tried to link it but my phone is not being obliging.
Rosemary, the fact that you are unvaccinated makes you many times more likely to catch covid, especially Omicron at 5.6 R + ,and your age means you are hundreds of times more likely to be hospitalised and add to the physical, mental and emotional load on nurses and doctors. I have seen it in my wife who had wished to retire or drastically reduce her work load two years ago, but as a life-long dedicated nurse felt she could not let down patients when her skills ( ventilator specialist ) which take at least 4 to 5 years to acquire were going to be desperately needed. She feels it every day when she leaves the house, “ Will I get back here, will I see my children again? Time you thought about others who carry such a heavy load. Please get vaccinated.
….and add to the physical, mental and emotional load on nurses and doctors.
Don't worry Adrian. I won't be adding to that load. I'm not up for being the Fucking Filth clogging up ICU, robbing the deserving of the healthcare they need.
Time you thought about others who carry such a heavy load. I understand it does not compare with the load your wife carries, but one of the reasons I am not prepared to risk the Pfizer Product is that if the worst happens and I have a bad reaction (and I have pre- existing issues that makes that more likely) my man, who is a C4/5 tetraplegic would be up the proverbial as I am his 24/7 sole carer. He too has issues that in all probability would be exacerbated by the Pfizer Product so has also opted for no shot. It is a very finely balanced life we lead, my man and I.
To assume I am selfish, unthinking of others… what a narrow minded view and clearly straight out of the anti anti-vaxxers handbook.
Rosemary…surely if your partner is a tetraplegic that is a reason to have the vaccine isn't it? You would not want your partner left alone I assume.
[But I don’t have details of your pre-existing condition in saying this-has this been diagnosed by professionals as a significant extra risk when having the vaccine?]
Clare Conboy of campaign group Stop Killer Robots said the outcome was one that "keeps the minority of militarised states investing in developing these weapons very happy".
Watch episode 1 last night of The Age of Nature – Restoring the Earth. The rehabilitation of the land in China was inspiring as was seeing the demise of the fishing grounds in northern Norway and what happened in an attempt to restore the fishing stocks. There are some great inspiring things happening out there.
“Luxon lists off the groups he thinks the Government has failed: small business owners, farmers and other voters.”
That is the very people that the government has spent billions of dollars on. Propping up small business and jobs throughout the pandemic. For that reason alone, Labour will still capture a chunk of votes.
When he starts on about government debt, it’ll be those voters National would have thrown under the bus.
Dunno about the farmers? I haven’t paid attention to what Robertson’s done for them.
Luxon is just reeling off vague typical National platitudes. Until he comes out with competing policies & puts his money on the table he’s just making typical opposition white noise that likely isn’t going to persuade anyone who’s not already a committed National voter that he’s got a high-performing, experience, cohesive team who would do a better job of running NZ.
That said, a good many lacklustre Labour Ministers need to pull finger next year & start getting their depts to produce actual improved outcomes, instead of just trumpeting how much money they’re throwing at problems that aren’t getting any better in spite of the extra funding.
Carmel Sepuloni needs to sort out MSD on a number of issues, the main one getting lots of attention from the 1ewes at 6 crew being stopping W&I from cutting benefits where parents don’t show up for job interviews or Court appearances. This is hitting their kids far too hard. They need to stop this practice immediately & have a re-think.
Poto Williams needs to urgently get more police officers. And get the cop hierarchy to have a rethink about reintroducing Community Constables, imo.
The current situation with emergency housing of gang-affiliated or associated ratbags in inner city hotels & motels needs sorting out too. As does not moving on violent & threatening tenants in Kainga Ora housing.
No Kris Faafoi is making progress in stopping usury. He also has the unhappy task of trying to manage flows of returnees, people leaving for work reasons etc.. Not a pleasant job in a pandemic. Many who feel hard done by have the ear of the Press.
Every now & then when bored with other blogs I take a quick look at that grumpy old bigoted bugger Sir Bob Jones’ website.
It’s not often, but every now & then I find myself agreeing with him. As I do on this case:
Why was Dawei Zhuang charged in a Palmerston North court with “careless driving causing death” (of a motor-cyclist)? Obviously it’s been a traumatic two and a half years for Zhuang facing a prison sentence as he awaited his trial.
Yet the undisputed and overwhelming evidence clearly showed the motor-cyclist was solely responsible for his demise and the Judge quickly threw the case out.
So I ask again, why was Zhuang made to endure the emotional consequences of this charge for two and a half years hanging over him? This was an appalling misjudgment by the Police in pursuing this matter to trial.
Sir Bob’s unfortunately got deep pockets & can afford the best lawyers. He’s a force to be reckoned with & not to be legally pursued lightly; even the constabulary & Crown Law obviously think so.
What specific offence(s) do you think he should’ve been convicted & incarcerated for?
Jones’ reputation with his tenants was diminished by Lee’s article, Reed said, and the financial adviser had previously published an incorrect article claiming Jones had been prosecuted for insider trading, for which he subsequently apologised.
TALES OF AN ANTI-VAXXER — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of the most prominent anti-vaxxers in the country. So it came as a surprise when an invitation to a holiday party at his home in California last week urged attendees to be tested or vaccinated beforehand, two people familiar with the matter told Daniel Lippman.
When we called up Kennedy for comment, he pinned it on his better half, actress Cheryl Hines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame. Kennedy said the party was for her entertainment industry friends and cast members, and he was unaware of what the e-vite invitation said before the day of the party.
“I guess I’m not always the boss at my own house,” Kennedy told Lippman. There was also no effort to verify vaccination or testing status of the attendees before entering, he said. (Hines didn't respond to a request for comment.)
"This week, ice scientists meeting in New Orleans warned that something even more alarming was brewing on the West Antarctic ice sheet – a vast basin of ice on the Antarctic peninsula. Years of research by teams of British and American researchers showed that great cracks and fissures had opened up both on top of and underneath the Thwaites glacier, one of the biggest in the world, and it was feared that parts of it, too, may fracture and collapse possibly within five years or less."
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One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
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* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins ...
Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like city after city around the world has become subject to extreme flooding events that have been made worse by impacts from climate change. We’ve highlighted many of them in our Weekly Roundup series. Sadly, over the last few days it’s been Auckland’s ...
A ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...
When Grant Robertson talks about how the economy might change post-covid, one of the things he talks about is what he calls an unsung but interesting white paper on science. “It’s really important,” he says. The Minister in charge of the White Paper — Te Ara Paerangi, Future Pathways ...
The news media were at one ceremony by the looks of things. The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his deputy were at another. The news media were at a swearing-in ceremony. The country’s leaders were at an appointment ceremony. The New Zealand Gazette record of what transpired says: Appointment of ...
I n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Friday’s deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...
They called it an “atmospheric river”, the weather bombardment which hit NZ’s northern region at the weekend. It exacted a terrible toll on metropolitan Auckland and the rest of the region. Few living there may have noted a statement from electricity generator Mercury Energy labelled “WET, WET, WET!” This was ...
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the title is to the leadership failures exhibited by Mayor Wayne Brown and his so-called leadership team when confronted by the ...
How much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...
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 ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
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. ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
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,” ...
In additon to the MetService severe thunderstorm warning issued earlier this afternoon for Auckland, Coromandel and the Waikato, the MetService has issued a further update saying it is “ideal thunderstorm weather” in Auckland. Auckland is experiencing very high humidity and MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths says “Today and tomorrow brings us ...
The Green Party co-leader joins Grant Robertson and Nicola Willis in opting not to contest the seat.Just six days after five-term Wellington Central MP and finance minister Grant Robertson announced he would not be contesting the Wellington Central seat and would go list-only at this year’s election, James Shaw ...
The decision turns Wellington into a 2023 battleground, with three brand new faces set to contest the electorate - and Shaw has already thrown his support behind Tamatha Paul. ...
The Wellington Central electorate is set to be a wide-open race, with Greens co-leader James Shaw joining Labour incumbent Grant Robertson in opting against a run for the seat later this year Green Party co-leader James Shaw will not run for the Wellington Central seat at this year’s election, instead ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zahid Shahab Ahmed, Senior research fellow, Deakin University Muhammad Sajjad/AP Earlier this week, a suicide blast ruptured the relative calm that had returned to Pakistan in recent years. The attack at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed ...
Between midnight February 3 and 8pm on February 10, rare photographs of New Zealand writers will be up for auction on the Fairfax Archives website. Books editor Claire Mabey explains.So, what is this auction?As of midnight on February 3 you can bid on pieces of literary history. The ...
The sun might be out, but Aucklanders are being warned another deluge could hit the city as soon as tonight. The city has been in a state of emergency since late Friday evening which is not due to expire until later this week. But while the weather has improved dramatically ...
When the streets flood, contaminated water gets everywhere – including into your clothes and shoes. Here’s why that matters and what to do next. Bernard Hickey, journalist and host of podcast When the Facts Change was “rubbernecking” around Auckland on Friday night. There were puddles everywhere. “They certainly didn’t look ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Nordberg, Senior Lecturer (Applied Ecology and Landscape Management), University of New England Shutterstock Australia’s renewable energy transition has prompted the construction of dozens of large-scale solar farms. The boom helps reduce Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels, but requires large ...
It has, to put it mildly, been a wet one. After record rainfall caused major flooding events and stormwater issues, Auckland is in crisis. Roads, suburbs, parks and homes have been overwhelmed with floodwater, much of which is “blackwater,” meaning it contains faecal matter and other sewage contaminants. So here’s ...
The government has unlocked an additional $700,000 in flood relief for regions most badly hit by recent bad weather. That includes Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland and the Bay of Plenty, with most of the money going toward providing unskilled and semi-skilled jobs for local people who can support the clean-up ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Helps, Research fellow, Monash University Shutterstock Identifying perpetrators of domestic and family violence is critical to ending violence against women. Practitioners across different sectors, including mental health, alcohol and drug services, have a vital opportunity to “screen” clients to ...
Age Concern New Zealand would like to extend a warm welcome to new Minister for Seniors, Ginny Andersen, who takes up the Seniors portfolio from the Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall. Karen Billings-Jensen, Chief Executive Age Concern New Zealand, says “We ...
Continuing fuel subsidies despite official and expert advice urging otherwise is focused on helping New Zealanders in the here and now, the finance minister says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University As we enter the fourth year of living with COVID, we are all asking the predictable question: when will the pandemic be over? To answer this question, it’s worth reminding ourselves that a pandemic involves ...
The twitter account for the mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown, has posted and deleted an image showing the prime minister, Chris Hipkins, pointing at Brown, who stares back in a tableau that at first glance appears combative. The tweet, which came with a caption describing a meeting between the two ...
The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand later this month, taking in the sights of Palmerston North. Prime minister Chris Hipkins announced the royal will attend the 100th anniversary celebrations for the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief. These ...
PM Anthony Albanese has announced changes to help protect New Zealand-born residents of Australia from deportation, following years of outcry about the toll on so-called ‘501s’. Don Rowe looks at why the policy is so widely reviled. A major shift in Australian immigration policy means the government will now consider ...
King Charles has sent a message to New Zealand following the floods that hit the top of the North Island over the past few days. In a letter shared via the governor general, the monarch said he had been following the news with the “deepest concern” and wanted to pass ...
Dunedin – Following news that the Scottish city of Edinburgh has become Europe’s first capital to sign the Plant Based Treaty, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent a letter to the mayor of Edinburgh’s ...
New figures reveal just how much living costs increased for households in 2022. Last year was dominated politically by the cost of living crisis, which has carried over into 2023 with inflation sky high and a looming recession on the horizon. According to Stats NZ, the cost of living for ...
Ramari Jackson-Paniora is the daughter of one of the main faces of the 1972 Māori Language Petition – but her relationship with te reo Māori is more complicated than people may assume.My whānau’s journey with reo Māori is typical of many Māori whānau across Aotearoa. Looking at my parents’ ...
After Monday night, the accepted narrative around rugby, sexuality and masculinity will never be quite the same, writes Sam Brooks. If you tuned into Seven Sharp on Monday night, you probably did so unaware that you were about to watch a history-making interview. After a wholesome segment with two ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has apologised for his “drongo” comment about journalists, but defended his decision to stop other councillors speaking out on the night of the devastating floods. In an interview with Newshub’s AM this morning, Brown admitted he shouldn’t have called the media drongos, adding that he will ...
Buller Electricity (BEL), the community owned lines network company that supplies the majority of electricity consumers in the Buller district on the South Island’s West Coast, has lodged a formal legal challenge opposing a 427% price increase in ...
Chris Hipkins says Aotearoa has "some tough calls to make as a country" regarding the future of communities in places vulnerable to extreme weather events. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pii-Tuulia Nikula, Principal Academic, Eastern Institute of Technology GettyImages An increasing number of businesses in Aotearoa New Zealand are changing how they operate to reduce their overall climate impact. These measures, which include reducing carbon emissions, are largely voluntary outside of ...
Increasing prices continued to affect all household groups in the 12 months to December 2022, Stats NZ said today. The cost of living for the average household (as measured by the household living-costs price indexes) increased by 8.2 percent in the 12 months ...
“The recent flooding in Auckland, Northland and the Bay of Plenty has caused chaos and has put people, homes and businesses at risk. It has also decimated huge crops of fruit and vegetables at a time when we are already paying significantly more than ...
The devastating deluge has highlighted the need for urgent climate action – but how likely is that under our current mayor?As a proud, unashamed JAFA, the recent floods literally hit home. Sirens blared nonstop all night Friday and all morning Saturday as a mighty torrent raged outside my window. ...
ANZ has said it will drop home loan interest rates by up to 55 basis points. It comes after yesterday’s employment data was released which showed that unemployment rose to 3.4% in the December, and pay did not rise as much as some economists had expected. Bank economists now expect the official cash rate ...
It’s a popular policy – and we are in an election year after all – but the government’s decision to extend the fuel tax cuts until the end of June has provoked a fair amount of criticism since being announced. Greenpeace told Today FM that while the government had good ...
Likely it be most expensive non-earthquake disaster in New Zealand, a picture is beginning to form about the long term implications of the flooding that will impact the entire country, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Birger Rasmussen, Adjunct Professor, The University of Western Australia Saul Shepstein, Author provided The Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to one of the most ancient surviving pieces of Earth’s crust, which has been geologically unchanged since its creation ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Dickie, PhD Candidate in Public Health Nutrition, Deakin University Shutterstock For years, the term “junk food” has been used to refer to foods considered bad for you, and not very nutritious. But junk can mean different things to different ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Daniel, Tutor / Lecturer in Film and Media Studies, Western Sydney University Columbia Pictures “What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” ...
Empathetic leadership is not some magical superpower – it’s a necessary skill in a time of crisis.It’s more ironic than rain on your wedding day that we’re having to contemplate the qualities of good leadership two weeks after the formal resignation of Jacinda Ardern. In assessments of the former ...
An international human rights group has called on NZ to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14. Don Rowe explains what’s going on.What’s all this then? The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has criticised the New Zealand government for failing to raise ...
Books editor Claire Mabey and poetry consultant Louise Wallace analyse this year’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards long (really quite long) list.Here are the books longlisted for the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards (for books published between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022). We’ve listed them all ...
Ockham longlist announced Once again the dear old Ockhams are the shockhams. The longlist of the 2023 Ockham New Zealand national book awards was announced this morning and much of it is quite crazy, which is to say adventurous and unusual, as well as showing a commitment to deeply boring ...
Wayne Brown's repeated defences of the radio silence from council offices on Friday night miss the point that communications is a fundamental part of an emergency response. ...
Lisa Cross' life has had many twists and turns in her almost 40 years. Now the mum of two says she's never felt better running at the world cross country champs for the first time. When Lisa Cross was an apprentice jockey, she became attuned to the puffs and blows of the ...
The humble egg is in short supply - The Detail looks at the reasons why it's so hard to get your hands on a carton Online auctions for chickens have attracted double the usual number of clicks in recent weeks, amid a nationwide egg shortage. Supermarket shelves have been empty and ...
'Where once the Karepiro chenier hosted dotterel and oystercatcher nests there could soon be sandcastles, and how many cats?' Pat Baskett looks at our ongoing contribution to the Sixth Extinction. It’s tempting to describe this breeding season of the tūturiwhatu (NZ dotterel) at Karepiro Bay on Auckland’s North Shore as a ...
We need to reduce our energy consumption and embrace 'degrowth’, in which we redesign the economy to put human and environmental wellbeing at its centreOpinion: In years gone by, you may have heard the words ‘peak oil’, often intoned with a sense of foreboding, warning us that before long oil ...
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It’s the biggest week in Real Pod history! Jane made her debut in Treasure Island: Fans v Faves and we grill her all about the drama from week one. Why did she put up Micah? How brutal was the wrestling challenge IRL? And what were her concerns about joining Lance’s ...
Treasure Island is back, baby, and so are our power rankings. Tara Ward recaps all the big plays from the dramatic first week of Fans v Faves. Treasure Island: Fans v Faves has finally washed ashore, and after hoovering down the first three action-packed episodes, I’m fuller than a weatherman ...
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Imperial college released a report today showing high immune escape, rapid growth and no evidence that omicron was milder than delta.
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/232698/modelling-suggests-rapid-spread-omicron-england/
Not good. Thanks aj for the link.
From the article:
"This level of immune evasion means that Omicron poses a major, imminent threat to public health."
Can we start off with asking some basic questions as to why this is an imminent threat, like what is the omegacron fatality rate? They admit in the article even that the data is poor.
Will anyone care if this get legs.
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH is a dizzying thing. In the week to December 8th Britain saw 536 new cases of covid-19 ascribed to the Omicron variant, less than 0.5% of the number caused by the dominant Delta variant. But the week before there had been only 32 cases of Omicron—and by December 14th the case number was over 10,000. Omicron looks set to become the country’s dominant strain in terms of cases before advent calendars run out of windows.
Cases lag behind infections. On December 13th Britain’s health minister, Sajid Javid, said that there were estimated to have been 200,000 infections in the country that day, most of them Omicron. Three more doublings and the total number of infections a day will be more than 1m.
[…]
The degree to which the variant can infect the previously infected may also make things look rosier than they really are. Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at Emory University, points out that Omicron’s success at reinfecting people may give the impression a smaller fraction gets severely ill just by inflating the denominator. It could thus seem more benign even if, among those contracting covid for the first time, it were just as dangerous as Delta (see chart).
https://archive.li/MR8gH (the economist)
Dr Michael Ryan on Covid – speed trumps perfection
You suggest that an "Abundance of caution" is the best stance 'till we know more.
That is of course an approach that advocates that we shouldn't do anything until we are quite certain of the best thing to do. It was the approach we have followed to date in that we didn't order any vaccines till very late in the piece. We didn't go ahead and get additional ICU beds in the hospitals. We didn't admit health care workers into the country by getting our immigration services into action.
Instead we simply locked everything down and did nothing to prepare for the virus getting into the country except to say that if we gave a lot of vaccination jabs everyone would be protected and we would all be free and we would have nothing else to worry about.
That was of course what this commenter was warning about. He says
"But the greatest error is not to move. The greatest error is to be paralysed by the fear of failure"
We are now paralysed. We haven't even got enough vaccination doses to give everyone a third dose have we? We only really have enough to finish of the two-jab procedure and we certainly don't have enough to give everyone a third. We don't have more ICU beds. We don't have increased medical personnel. We should have all these things already. They shouldn't just go on with the recital that everything is just peachy. Do something NOW is the thesis being proposed. It isn't arguing for an "abundance of caution".
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/458094/omicron-experts-advise-speeding-up-vaccine-booster-doses-after-variant-detected-in-miq
Rubbish. Finding out the facts before a decision is sensible. Nobody said "Stand still" That is your position taken as a rebuttal, putting words in my mouth. Stop repeating the lie about the vaccine roll out.
I don't see anything I said about the vaccine rollout that was a lie.
We ordered the vaccines a great deal later than most equivalent countries.
We were later than most equivalent countries in administering them in large quantities.
We don't have nearly enough to provide a third dose at the moment.
ergo We were very late to the party.
The point is that when delta first appeared in this country the government placed the country in level 4 lockdown. they didn't wait around to figure out the "best" measure to to take, but put in place a measure known to to be good..
The original lockdown was vey sensible and the right thing to do. We were an isolated country and it would work.
You will remember of course that it was an all-party decision and not something the Labour did by themselves. It was something that was strongly promoted by both National and New Zealand First wasn't it? Or do you choose to forget them?
Indeed there were rumours that Labour had to be forced to take action. At the time there were rumours that Bloomfield had threatened to resign unless the Labour led Government cancelled the Memorial gathering in Christchurch and the Pasifica festival. I have no idea whether there was anything in those rumours but at least they were finally scrapped at the last moment.
Unfortunately that was the last thing that was done properly. Since then they simply frozen up like possums in a spotlight. It was a pity they cut Winston out of the action in the latter part of their term.
It was what went on after the original lockdown that was badly handled and you will see that it was those things that I have been talking about.
There was something unreal about it all when that first national lockdown happened. I went out early one morning for a walk and there was still lots of traffic around.
Going thru my gifs I was surprised to find I'd made one of that walk
Oh bull. National had a different idea every week.
Lucky for them, National voters can't remember what they said last week.
And like them, you think constantly repeating lies, like the one about the vaccine rollout, makes them true.
Yep. I seem to remember they were all over the place on lockdowns & financial support measures initially, before finally deciding to support the PM. (The polls were clear that the great majority of NZers supported lockdown.)
Alwynger Still pushing the John Key lie, as Pfizer pointed out We could not get our vaccines any earlier.Europe and the US banned exports until they had enough for themselves and considering 100's and 1,000's were dying in the US and the EU it would have been very selfish of us.
But you represent the selfish alwyn.
by repeating the lie you think people will believe your pathetic trumpist bs.
We are in a much better position by vaccinating later because of waning immunity Giving us better immunity than countries who have rolled out early combined with our high rates 90% plus .
That has saved 10's of thousands of lives.
Like 2.44 million doses ready for boosting with more arriving.Thats from your link. Maybe you should read your own links before you make a complete idiot of yourself. Where is the lack of booster doses thats a straight up lie.alwynger.
Half way through November you made claims we wouldn't get to 90% another of your lies.
Please provide a quote from me where I said we would never get to 90%.
But you won't because you never provide any evidence for any of your claims do you? Mr Spray and walk away is who you are.
Alwyn ,the of November 2021 your denigrating comments on open Mike.
Infer it will never happen as we now are heading to 96% first dose. 90% plus second.
3 Rd dose of course you will regurgitate that we don't have enough doses for boosters. 2.44 million plus more coming.
The 17th of Nov open Mike. Irony as 90% of your posts are false claims
I made 3 comments on Open Mike on 17/11/2021
Two of them related to the Pike River affair.
The third was to Gezza suggesting an approach to getting a better proof reader.
None of the thee mentioned in any way Covid 19, vaccinations of vaccination rates at any DHB or overall.
You do spout a lot of B*s don't you? You really are a schmuck.
But full of your opinion which repeats RW talking points. Mickysavage reported on Matt Nippert's objective assessment …
I watched a bit of Al Jazeera tv news late last night (1st time in quite a few weeks). They showed a hospital in Scotland where the ICU nurses are pleading for people to get vaxed & observe social distancing & mask wearing because the nursing staff are physically & mentally exhausted caring for critical-care Covid-19 patients.
And they can’t get any more trained nursing staff from anywhere. Right around the world there’s an acute shortage of nursing staff; because of Covid, every hospital everywhere is trying to recruit more & can’t get them.
Even if Immigration NZ was allowing hospitals to recruit overseas, I’m not sure how many we could actually. The biggest drawcard until Delta got here was that we’d successfully kept Covid out. It sure wasn’t our nurses pay rates, or cheap housing or rentals here.
🙄 *actually get.
Getting visas through INZ is not that hard, the issue is then getting them MIQ spots. I gather Minister Little has intervened, but why it took this long to make that happen is a mystery to me.
Concerns not just from that side but also from opposing sides. It is staggering that the ordinary person not in "the tent" is so easily lied to or fed with confusing statements.
Culture vultures have something to pick at & dine on here:
Yeah, that's the question still. The one in the movie was likely intended as dramatisation of the one in real life. We emerge from birth into a family matrix, some of us into a tribal matrix, and adolescence shifts us into a broader socio-cultural matrix. Then politics imposes a political matrix (the democracy prison, for us).
Some of us become adept at transcending each matrix to live as global citizens. Others grow old & die in mental worlds confined by their matrix. Life on autopilot is easy for many.
Best to be pragmatic rather than paranoid. The control system can be viewed as an historical product of social evolution rather than something deliberately created to exploit the masses. It's actually both, but the ruling cabal thesis (Illuminati) is too theoretical in comparison to the plethora of actual orgs dedicated to operating social control systems. Realpolitik informs us that the overall matrix is multidimensional.
I shouldn’t worry about it too much Dennis.
Ice-free Arctic late in ’23, resulting in rapid heating of the earth.
Massive (and I mean MASSIVE) climate disruption in ’24, world-wide famine, world-wide deaths, world-wide migration, world-wide local conflicts. Plus 400+ unattended, un-decommissioned nuclear power plants around the world.
All gone by late ’25 or early ’26.
That soon?
I think he means the 23rd century, then the 24th century and so on. He just misread the timescale.
I wouldnt dismiss it out of hand…..an overly complicated interdependent system could collapse very quickly
I guess that you are like me and can remember Al Gore proposing in 2009 that
"Some of the models suggest that there is a 75% chance that the entire north polar ice cap, during some of the summer months, could be completely ice-free within the next five to seven years."
Whatever did happen to Al Gore anyway? Has he settled down to enjoy his millions.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/mar/02/facebook-posts/fact-checking-claims-al-gore-said-all-arctic-ice-w/
Whatever did happen to Al Gore anyway?
Still mouthing off:
I am of two minds.
One is to say thank you for telling me this. After all I did ask.
The second is to think "I wish he hadn't" I had rather hoped that he was by now gone and forgotten. I imagine he still turns up in a gas guzzling private jet to lecture us mere plebs on how bad we are.
Alwyn,I say Alwyn..Al Gore is a multiple winner of the 'Always be sincere ..even if you ..don't really..mean ..it' award.
My prediction is the fourth Matrix movie is likely to suck big time
Hope I'm wrong
Another measure the Govt could introduce to cool down the property market.
Stamp duties on valuations.
Singapore is exempted from the NZ foreign buyers ban.
'ABSD rate, however, will be raised to 17% for SCs second residential purchase, 25% on their third and subsequent purchases.
For SPRs, the rate will be raised to 25% on their second purchase, and 30% on their third and subsequent purchases.
Rate will also be raised to 30% for foreigners purchasing any residential property; and 35% for entities purchasing any residential property and developers purchasing any residential property.'
Gov’t unveils 3 new property cooling measures (msn.com)
Singapore is exempted from the NZ foreign buyers ban.
So are Ozzers. I didn't realise that.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/realestate/new-zealand-locks-the-doors-from-the-inside.html
(Peter Thiel gets a mention…)
At the very least ,the NZ Govt should respond in 'kind'…30% levy on Singapore buyers.
They won't of course.
The reality is Singapore has hardly any land!NZ has plenty.
He really trusts you Gezza.
It's quite surprising the number of birds that do, Patricia.
I'm out there at the stream fence several times nearly every day, certainly every fine day. I'm often standing underneath a tree, surrounded by its foliage.
I feed the waterbirds and any other birds that like seeds or bread chunks. And I just calmly talk to them all in a soft voice, using the same phrases, which most seem to learn.
I think I just become part of the scenery for them. They know I'm no threat and I don't try and pat them (well, I have tried, but I don't persist if they hop away, which they pretty much all do).
I could put half a dozen wheat grains into the palm of my hand for Ivan, when he perched on the fence like that, and hold it out to him. He just hoovered them up from my palm and waited for more.
We had a parrot to look after once. He was a handsome green Alexandrine parakeet. He talked. (We were in Caloundra.)
"Joe likes apple APPLE." "Joe is a handsome boy, hop up on Mummy's shoulder. Don't bite Mummy!" He used to copy Dale's call to Molly the dog who was then taking a pill wrapped in cheese. "Molly here Molly Cheeese!!" Molly knew the difference though. When I would clean his cage he would hang by one leg and comment "Been a mucky boy Joe" Really a laugh, as he would look directly at you with a beady black eye, head cocked to the side. He was twenty and they live 40 years, so entertaining. He had his wing feathers clipped, so when they let him out he would walk round with their 3 little dogs. They never bothered him and tolerated him walking around on the tiled floor with them.
Must be something in the water.
https://archive.li/CLf8O
https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-066768
Lock-downs ain't in the water…
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/12/03/flattening-curve-global-poor-covid-lockdowns-human-rights-vulnerable/
Not sure if we should trust anything from the Grayzone Bill:
From Wikipedia:
"The Grayzone website's news content is known for its sympathetic coverage of authoritarian regimes and in its denial of the Uyghur genocide."
Demolition of the sole source of Uighur genocide manufactured data may constitute sympathising in yours and wikipaedias books but for others, getting at the lies that buttress US and Western great power competition are more important. Adrien Zenz is an idiot fundamentalist christian who is on record stating both that he is on a mission from god to destroy China and that armageddon is a precondition for gods intervention in this world. With magical fairies. Highlighting this and his crass manipulation of data, supported by another rapture enthusiast, Mike Pompeo, was a job well done by the grayzone. But it sure made them enemies in high places.
Non grayzone references
There is but one simple means to establish the truth about Xinjiang – open, unconstrained investigation.
Just like was done after the Wuhan lab debacle. Oh wait …
Well I guess thats a start. At least you admit there is room for debate. Accusations of genocide by idiot extreme religionists dont deserve to be taken seriously. By the same token we dont take much notice of proclamations by Wahhabi mullahs, who also claim to be on the path of destroying nations, led by god. The ETIM, a Uighur terrorist group, affiliated to Al Qaeda, which was funded by the US to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and then went on to fight in Syria, returned home and turned their anti communist obsessions against the Chinese state. This is real verifiable news. Many people were killed in Xinjiang. I supplied a link above but you can read about it here from Vijay Prashad if you prefer. A common theme with religious nut jobs is their anti communist bent and they seem quite happy to join forces I guess safe in the knowledge that their god being the only god only they will be saved.
Your claim that Adrian Zenz is the sole source of information on this matter is patently silly and easily discredited. Pointless getting into a link battle with you on it though – anyone can use a search engine and make up their own minds if they're interested.
What is much less contentious is however the long and bitter record of communist oppression towards all religions it suspects of competing with it.
What is indisputable about all forms of extreme religion is that they preach salvation through destruction. Exyreme Christianity removes everything that Jesus said and places armageddon between the individual and salvation. Followers like Zenz and Pompeo then do gods work by promoting conditions most likely to bring on conflagration.
Well that's a watertight self-justification if I ever saw one.
Lockdowns only have one purpose which is to prevent the health system from rationing who gets treated and who does not.
Omicron is serious as when the health workers fall sick or are exhausted hospitals will not function.
Will people scream about human rights then?
Good post Joe…I am sure Chris Bishop will find way to whinge about these numbers…I put it on fb.
From the article:
Alwyn…. We are ok!!!
Looks like the further to the right a countries govt is the higher the covid death toll.
Anyone else find it disturbing that Stuff have taken to outing the vaccine status of private citizens?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127320798/covid19-senior-general-manager-at-christchurch-council-is-unvaccinated
Tbh Cricklewood, I find pretty much everything that is published on Stuff disturbing.
And I know I'm the slow learner down the back of the class on this, but I still don't understand why we unjabbed pose such an horrendous risk to the double jabbed.
I am seriously beginning to wonder if the Pfizer Product has negatively affected some folks' cognitive function.
The 'vaccine' only works if everyone has had it…?
they don't pose a threat to the vaccinated,
they pose a threat to the underfunded, understaffed, and under resourced Hospitals in our fair land.
" I still don't understand why we unjabbed pose such an horrendous risk to the double jabbed."
Have you put the question here, Rosemary, and read closely the replies?
Have you?
It's not an issue that perplexes me. I understand why the "unjabbed" pose a risk to the "double jabbed".
How about you, Sabine?
Have you a good understanding of why that is?
Your comment: “they pose a threat to the underfunded, understaffed, and under resourced Hospitals in our fair land.” goes part-way to explaining that risk and is fair, in my opinion.
I think this is willful on your part. But, fwiw,
Quick reference,
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/452283/how-do-covid-vaccines-change-your-risk-of-infection-and-are-you-less-likely-to-pass-it-on
What don't you understand about that? Less people with covid means less people get covid. Unvaxxed people are protected thus too.
It's also true that the more people are vaccinated the less the unvaccinated become a risk, statistically.
I suspect that some people fail to appreciate the collective nature of the public health response and are thinking more about individuals. Classic socialist vs libertarian.
but I still don't understand why we unjabbed pose such an horrendous risk to the double jabbed
Well, according to Jaccinda recently, the traffic lights with all the exclusion were to protect the unvaccinated from the vaccinated (I kid you not)
Though, it could be about an indirect threat to a vaccinated persons health if they were unable to get into a hospital because a virus with a fatality rate of 0.05% in the under 70 age group had landed a person without a vaccination in hospital with Covid. In the likely event they wind up in hospital for any other reason, then of course, they pose no threat.
Then there's…"because!"
This has been patiently explained to you many times on this site now, with references!
It seems like Nationals incapability of understanding what traffic lights do.
It is simply a wilful refusal to listen.
When every other country decided to open up with few restrictions are Now putting restrictions back in place
We are moving caustiously forward .
Smart thinking we can see what's happening elsewhere why wouldn't you take advantage of what is happening elsewhere.
National are undermining this health initiative to please who Brian Tamaki,Billy tk. Bill and Rosemary.Alwyn.
It is simply a wilful refusal to listen.
I'm listening, but your explanations simply do not make much sense.
The Pfizer Product only works as a vaccine to prevent infection, transmission and serious illness and death if the vaccinated person only associates with other vaccinated persons.
Because only unvaccinated people can carry and transmit Te Virus and they can infect those who have been vaccinated with a product that claims to dramatically lower the risk of infection and dramatically lower the risk of serious illness and death but only if those vaccinated are kept separate from the unvaccinated…
The vaccine is working in New Zealand, to cut down spread.
If it wasn't we would have an exponential rise in COVID cases in Auckland, right now.
As they have in US States with low vaccination numbers.
That is fucking outrageous and steps right over the line.
This amateur run website has way more professional ethics than this.
I'm actually really fucked off about it, I'm wondering if there are grounds for a formal complaint tbh.
and they wonder why the cop abuse from protestors…
I'm guessing they would justify it as having public interest, but seems a stretch to me. The article clearly explains that his role has little to do with public contact or spaces, and that he is attending meetings via zoom. That leaves staff, but there's no mandate on that organisation, so what's the point of the article other than to ostracise?
As the GM of HR (among other things), it's his department running the consultation on the proposed vaccine mandate policy. Probably still doubts over the advisability or legality of publishing a private citizen's vaccination status, but there would be at least a perceived conflict of interest internally.
what's the conflict of interest? Is the assumption he is an anti-vaxer?
Given councils have public facilities in terms of the Covid Protection Framework and those facilities require vaccine passes, it's a bit strange for the GM of facilities to not be vaccinated (his areas are "human resources; IT; facilities, property and planning; procurement; financial management and the Smart Christchurch programme").
On the question, I've heard rumours along those lines.
Yes I have cancelled because of this.
39 new cases today! Eat that, Natz!
That is a wonderful number but would be almost too good to be true. Whatever, these relatively low numbers are a great way to start the last week before xmas. Has to be the effect of both widespread vaccination and many people still taking measures such as masks and social distancing seriously.
Weka, thank you for that great, simple and clear explanation of the collective nature of public health measures required to keep numbers down. I plead for people to think about the clear logic for what we are doing, and set to one side all the other noise around our country.
Aj, Australia? How are the Aussies doing? Not on that list… is "Scottie from Marketing" not telling?
I'm referring to T V's comment "39 new cases today!" Patricia, not the life expectancy improvement @ 11:22am which I believe only covers the nations that have provided that number (can't find the reference sorry)
Sorry this attached to the wrong comment. But you are probably correct, they did not divulge it.
An "under-10 year" old Maori boy has died today, of Covid?
I just heard this and don't know yet if it's true.
I suspect what you relates to this announcement. The child actually died earlier this week.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300481147/covid19-child-under-10-becomes-youngest-case-to-die
I haven’t seen another such case announced elsewhere today.
I suspect what you heard relates to this announcement. The child actually died earlier this week.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300481147/covid19-child-under-10-becomes-youngest-case-to-die
I haven’t seen another such case announced elsewhere today.
True, was reported on RNZ news early morning..
The child didn’t die today, Dennis. See above. He died earlier in the week. That he had been infected with Covid wasn’t known until after he died.
Oh, okay, I heard it on the breakfast news. Maybe they didn't specify that
Died of Covid? according to Gezza's stuff article, diagnosed with Covid after they had died..? So, with covid or with detected traces of the covid virus might be a better descriptor?
Will find out after his autopsy and inquest.
The headline didn't wait however.
Fairly disgusting to exploit a child's death for propaganda purposes, aye?
The headline clearly implies a Covid death, which dovetails rather nicely into mandating children 5 and up…
"Covid-19: Child under 10 becomes youngest case to die"
there is a 5 -12 year old vaccine programme due to begin in january
Yup. And I know the parents of one 9 year old have been told that unless injected, she can't do her drama classes next term.
Given that no children without serious co-morbidities have died from Covid…that even the BBC reported the chances of a child dying from Covid were 1 in 2 million alongside the NYT stating the risk was so low as to be incalculable….
Back to Tony’s statement re today’s numbers – The update today on the MoH Āwhina app tells us that the numbers are not a full 24 hours as they have changed from midnight to midnight rather than from 9am to 9am. I have tried to link it but my phone is not being obliging.
Oh shit, just heard on the news, that's for 15 hours, not 24!
Bugger!
Rosemary, the fact that you are unvaccinated makes you many times more likely to catch covid, especially Omicron at 5.6 R + ,and your age means you are hundreds of times more likely to be hospitalised and add to the physical, mental and emotional load on nurses and doctors. I have seen it in my wife who had wished to retire or drastically reduce her work load two years ago, but as a life-long dedicated nurse felt she could not let down patients when her skills ( ventilator specialist ) which take at least 4 to 5 years to acquire were going to be desperately needed. She feels it every day when she leaves the house, “ Will I get back here, will I see my children again? Time you thought about others who carry such a heavy load. Please get vaccinated.
….and add to the physical, mental and emotional load on nurses and doctors.
Don't worry Adrian. I won't be adding to that load. I'm not up for being the Fucking Filth clogging up ICU, robbing the deserving of the healthcare they need.
Time you thought about others who carry such a heavy load. I understand it does not compare with the load your wife carries, but one of the reasons I am not prepared to risk the Pfizer Product is that if the worst happens and I have a bad reaction (and I have pre- existing issues that makes that more likely) my man, who is a C4/5 tetraplegic would be up the proverbial as I am his 24/7 sole carer. He too has issues that in all probability would be exacerbated by the Pfizer Product so has also opted for no shot. It is a very finely balanced life we lead, my man and I.
To assume I am selfish, unthinking of others… what a narrow minded view and clearly straight out of the anti anti-vaxxers handbook.
Best wishes to you both Rosemary. That is a rock and a hard place. Life is not simple.
Thanks Patricia, and all the best to you too.
Rosemary…surely if your partner is a tetraplegic that is a reason to have the vaccine isn't it? You would not want your partner left alone I assume.
[But I don’t have details of your pre-existing condition in saying this-has this been diagnosed by professionals as a significant extra risk when having the vaccine?]
Stop Killer Robots? 🤖
Hmm, dunno about that, let's weigh the pros & cons awhile…
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/technology/2021/12/un-talks-adjourn-without-deal-to-regulate-killer-robots-nz-in-support.html
Watch episode 1 last night of The Age of Nature – Restoring the Earth. The rehabilitation of the land in China was inspiring as was seeing the demise of the fishing grounds in northern Norway and what happened in an attempt to restore the fishing stocks. There are some great inspiring things happening out there.
https://hdclump.com/restoring-the-earth-the-age-of-nature-episode-1/
“Luxon lists off the groups he thinks the Government has failed: small business owners, farmers and other voters.”
That is the very people that the government has spent billions of dollars on. Propping up small business and jobs throughout the pandemic. For that reason alone, Labour will still capture a chunk of votes.
When he starts on about government debt, it’ll be those voters National would have thrown under the bus.
Good luck getting their vote.
Dunno about the farmers? I haven’t paid attention to what Robertson’s done for them.
Luxon is just reeling off vague typical National platitudes. Until he comes out with competing policies & puts his money on the table he’s just making typical opposition white noise that likely isn’t going to persuade anyone who’s not already a committed National voter that he’s got a high-performing, experience, cohesive team who would do a better job of running NZ.
That said, a good many lacklustre Labour Ministers need to pull finger next year & start getting their depts to produce actual improved outcomes, instead of just trumpeting how much money they’re throwing at problems that aren’t getting any better in spite of the extra funding.
If you discount the media noise, you might find Labour ministers aren’t doing all that bad. The only really weak link is Kris Faafoi.
Carmel Sepuloni needs to sort out MSD on a number of issues, the main one getting lots of attention from the 1ewes at 6 crew being stopping W&I from cutting benefits where parents don’t show up for job interviews or Court appearances. This is hitting their kids far too hard. They need to stop this practice immediately & have a re-think.
Poto Williams needs to urgently get more police officers. And get the cop hierarchy to have a rethink about reintroducing Community Constables, imo.
The current situation with emergency housing of gang-affiliated or associated ratbags in inner city hotels & motels needs sorting out too. As does not moving on violent & threatening tenants in Kainga Ora housing.
No Kris Faafoi is making progress in stopping usury. He also has the unhappy task of trying to manage flows of returnees, people leaving for work reasons etc.. Not a pleasant job in a pandemic. Many who feel hard done by have the ear of the Press.
'other voters'!
That's one of Christopher7's fundamental strengths…he is always very…precise.
Yep. Sarcasm noted. He’s so bland & vague that immediately after he’s spoken it feels like he hasn’t. 😕
I expect that when he walks into a room it feels like he’s just left. 😎
Every now & then when bored with other blogs I take a quick look at that grumpy old bigoted bugger Sir Bob Jones’ website.
It’s not often, but every now & then I find myself agreeing with him. As I do on this case:
Why was Dawei Zhuang charged in a Palmerston North court with “careless driving causing death” (of a motor-cyclist)? Obviously it’s been a traumatic two and a half years for Zhuang facing a prison sentence as he awaited his trial.
Yet the undisputed and overwhelming evidence clearly showed the motor-cyclist was solely responsible for his demise and the Judge quickly threw the case out.
So I ask again, why was Zhuang made to endure the emotional consequences of this charge for two and a half years hanging over him? This was an appalling misjudgment by the Police in pursuing this matter to trial.
https://nopunchespulled.com/2021/12/17/bad-police-judgement/#more-3176
I had to Google Zhuang’s name to find a Stuff article about the case:
https://i.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/300475878/driver-exonerated-for-role-in-fatal-palmerston-north-crash
Jones should have been jailed…years ..ago.
Sir Bob’s unfortunately got deep pockets & can afford the best lawyers. He’s a force to be reckoned with & not to be legally pursued lightly; even the constabulary & Crown Law obviously think so.
What specific offence(s) do you think he should’ve been convicted & incarcerated for?
He's a bald-necked vulture, wall-eyed and snarky.
🙂
Insider trading.
Hmm. Given Sir Bob’s litigiousness, a Mod might need to take a look at that one 🤔
Go ahead and look at it…he got off with a slap on the wrist.
'Don't sell…..until I've unloaded all…of mine'.
Very interesting.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/get-inside-the-trading-game/4YYLL7UIKIL5UWAX2CJ5TVRXWY/
Yes a veritable rogues gallery,notable for all the knights of the realm involved-wonderful world…beautiful ..people.
So's this:
https://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=25101
and this:
Insider trading is a lovely earner for the wealthy and powerful.
In the U.S they have the Stock Act to deter congress reps from trading with insider knowledge.
Congress is always meeting with corporations regarding their business activities.
The fine is $200,but no one has ever been …caught.
Someone like Nancy Pelosi who earns 220k a year is (with hubby)worth around 45million…which is about 200 years salary.
She maintains everything is fine and dandy…because its a 'free market'!
Here in Australia ASIC is decently effective at policing these matters. They won't be perfect, but their presence is both visible and highly active.
He’s actually vaccinated and the anti-vax stuff is a scam to maintain the lifestyle he reckons he deserves?
TALES OF AN ANTI-VAXXER — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of the most prominent anti-vaxxers in the country. So it came as a surprise when an invitation to a holiday party at his home in California last week urged attendees to be tested or vaccinated beforehand, two people familiar with the matter told Daniel Lippman.
When we called up Kennedy for comment, he pinned it on his better half, actress Cheryl Hines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame. Kennedy said the party was for her entertainment industry friends and cast members, and he was unaware of what the e-vite invitation said before the day of the party.
“I guess I’m not always the boss at my own house,” Kennedy told Lippman. There was also no effort to verify vaccination or testing status of the attendees before entering, he said. (Hines didn't respond to a request for comment.)
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/12/17/this-is-a-real-f-ing-problem-495509
"This week, ice scientists meeting in New Orleans warned that something even more alarming was brewing on the West Antarctic ice sheet – a vast basin of ice on the Antarctic peninsula. Years of research by teams of British and American researchers showed that great cracks and fissures had opened up both on top of and underneath the Thwaites glacier, one of the biggest in the world, and it was feared that parts of it, too, may fracture and collapse possibly within five years or less."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/18/scientists-watch-giant-doomsday-glacier-in-antarctica-with-concern
…five years or less.
No. They are not stupid.