Collins touching on the one of the Far Right talking points. Even if it means she has to lie.
"We are concerned about mandatory vaccination creeping in."
"Non-jab, no job"
"No other job has mandatory vaccination, (other than border workers)" Judith Collins
In fact the NZDF has mandatory vaccination is required before deployment overseas.
All Water Care employees and contractors at Mangere waste water treatment plant, must be vaccinated to work on that site.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries?
Is Collins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
Construction to shut down in Victoria after violent protests at CFMEU office
'It was orchestrated by rightwing extremists and that is something that we've seen – the targeting of other blue-collar unions over the last few months,' ACTU president Michele O'Neil says….
The anti vaxxer movement has infiltrated the construction industry in Victoria. I read it online somewhere last night. They are getting better organised by the day and undermining all the hard work by the authorities and the police.
“Voices for Freedom” are doing the same thing here. Apart from pamphlet drops (got one in my letterbox last week) they are assembling outside schools and trying to coerce teenagers from being vaccinated. I expect they are spreading the lie they will become sterile.
They are becoming more vociferous and daring and imo should be outlawed. There is plenty of precedence in history during times of emergencies.
Sep 22, 2021 8:55 AM
RNZ Live
Anti vaccination protesters are outside Taita College in the the Hutt Valley where students are getting vaccinated this week.
The group called Voices for Freedom are standing at the entry to the school with signs saying 'can we trust the media?' and "vaccines are bioweapons".
RNZ has spoken to some students who were confused and concerned, while others were laughing.
Police are at the scene, and teachers are helping students get inside.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries? IsCollins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
Who knows? Collins reacts to everything that happens with a knee-jerk complaint about the government. Who even listens these days
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
True, but Collins is invested in whining about the guvermint purely for the sake of it. I seriously doubt any anti-vaxers who might harbour notions of organising disruptive, violent protests in NZ are going to be influenced by whatever new, daft outburst Collins has to say.
She's crashing the National Party's credibility towards zero every day. Shelf-life now very close to expiry, imo.
…..Collins is invested in whining about the guvermint purely for the sake of it. I seriously doubt any anti-vaxers who might harbour notions of organising disruptive, violent protests in NZ are going to be influenced by whatever new, daft outburst Collins has to say.
I don't think that Judith Collins was inciting any anti-vaxers into organising disruptive violent protests, (though that could be a side-effect). What Collins is doing with her comments,about creeping mandatory vaccination, is opportunistically scraping the bottom of the barrel for their votes.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan.
I would be very interested in seeing it.
Just how does the National Party propose to get us out of Lockdowns and/or raise vaccination levels above the 90% threshold, that the medical experts tell us will be needed to lift all Lockdown restrictions, and prevent the collapse of our health system?
I would really like to know.
It would be ironic, if Judith Collins’ plan has some level of mandatory vaccination. Now that she has gone on the record as being opposed to it.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan. I would be very interested in seeing it
… … … …
"Almost every other country that we compare ourselves to is rolling out vaccinations as quickly as they can. Our closest neighbour, Australia, has prioritized this with vaccinations starting within the next few weeks.
This means their citizens will be safer. They’ll have the certainty to get back to business. They’ll see international students and visitors return, and life for Kiwis who live in Australia will start to get back to normal.
New Zealanders can’t afford another lockdown. But even more than this, failing to secure vaccinations for our frontline workers, border staff and those who work in and around managed isolation and quarantine shows a massive disregard for the sacrifice New Zealanders made last year. It is not good enough.
We need to match Australia’s schedule. We should be like Singapore, rolling out the vaccine to frontline workers and those vulnerable New Zealanders who need it urgently."
… … … …
The Australian "defence" industry and the politicians they donate to (aka bribe) – are very much a mirror of the US war machine, and know exactly what they are doing.
MSM Russiagate and MSM lies on Syrian gas attacks both crumble even further into the gutter where they belong..but of course not one person in the media that uncritically pushed these obviously bullshit stories 24/7 will be held to account…nope just like all the media and journalist who willingly pushed war in Iraq in the service of power, they will face no consequences…probably because there is so much crossover in who benefits from those lies.
Hmmmm looks like those pesky Hunter Biden emails were real after all.
The disinformation wasn't Russian , it came from all those partisan journos ready to ditch the integrity of their trade so they could belong to the "right" crowd
Politico was one of those outlets.Now one of its writers has come out with a book verifying the emails , with recipients affirming .
@Jenny how to get there…can you please explain to us exactly how highlighting the fact that Liberal MSM has been disseminating misinformation on the completely fabricated Russian collusion conspiracy for years on end, also completely disregarding all public information on the Douma chemical attack that didn't fit with their state sanctioned narrative, to the point that the BBC has been forced into a pubic apology is "running interference for Russian imperialism and Assad fascism"?…I would be interested to see what tortured logic you come up with…I am sure it couldn't be any worse than the years of bullshit that has been spewed out by the usual suspects around here defending their masters like good little soldiers…but who knows you might be a better soldier than them….fire away.
I am not going to play google tag with you, and waste my time to go over line by line the specifics of the Douma gas attack. Not because I can't, but what's the point.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians killed by the Assad regime are not being killed in gas attacks.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians being killed by the Assad regime and their Iranian allies and Russian patron, are not by gas attacks, but by so called 'conventional weapons', and in industrial scale extermination camps, into which tens of thousands of Syrians have been disappeared into.
Everyone who knows anything of Syria has heard of Sednaya, the biggest and most notorious of the Assad regime's death camps.
19 kilometres North of Damascus everbody knows where Sednaya is.
But I tell you what. Not one of the Western journalists and apologists who have visited the Damascus as guests of the Assad regime, have ever asked for a tour of Sednaya.
Sednaya Prison
See also: Sednaya Prison
To the west of Saidnaya, the government has a military prison with estimated of 14,000 prisoners. The prison lies 30 km on the outskirts of Northern Damascus.[17] In February 2017 Amnesty International released a report saying: "that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were extra judicially executed at Saydnaya between September 2011 and December 2015."[18] On May 15, 2017, the US State Department reiterated the charge of 50 secret executions a day, concealed by subsequent cremation on site.[19][20]
The Assad regime is killing so many detainees in Syria that it now amounts to the crime against humanity of "extermination", a UN report has found.
In a document published by the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, investigators found the Syrian government responsible for "massive and systematised violence".
The crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime, according to the UN, far outnumber those of Isis militants and other jihadist groups….
At least three detainees belong to Syria's minority Christian community were identified among leaked mass torture photos, according to the Syrian Association for the Missing and Prisoners of Conscience.
Syrian Christian community with total population of 1.75 million has faced growing violence since the uprising erupted in March 2011. But mass torture photos inside Syrian regime's security chambers have revealed gruesome revenge of Christians who supported Syrian revolution.
For long decades, Assad's family (Father and Son) has presented itself as minorities protector. But Syrian conflict disclosed the real face of such allegations, activists said.
……
According to reports, in 2012 the first Christian Free Syrian Army unit formed, yet it was reported that the Assad government still had the reluctant support of the majority of the country's Christians of various ethnicities and denominations. By 2013 an increasing number of Christians favored the opposition. In 2014, the predominantly Christian Syriac Military Council formed an alliance with the FSA, and other Syrian Christian militias such as the Sutoro had joined the Syrian opposition against the Assad regime.
The atrocious photos of mass torture by Syrian security had been taken between 2011 and mid 2013 in the well-known 601 military hospital in Mezzah neighborhood of Damascus. The photos showed hundreds of lifeless bodies with signs of starvation, brutal beatings, strangulation and other forms of torture and killing.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, in report issued last September, said at least 215,000 people were arrested by Syrian security since the revolution erupted in March 2011. (4500 of them are women and 9,000 are less than 18).
According to the report, 2630 detainees were tortured to death and 70,000 cases documented as enforced disappearance…..
This thread is about Russiagate and Douma specifically…your obfuscating has not answered my question even slightly…of course.
But then you and others seem to be quite OK with your media lying right to your face..infact you seem to like it, which is kind of weird…but hey different strokes for different folks I say.
Douma at the time was under heavy rocket and air attack by the Assad regime.
The pattern is much the same, and still being practiced by the regime's forces, indiscriminate bombing and shelling of all rebel held towns and cities.
The contested Douma gas attack was only one incident in a much broader government offensive that killed many more civilians and rebel fighters.
Weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons arnd gas weapons are only for our side to have. Third World totalitarian leaders like Kim Jong-Un of Basha Al Assad are not allowed to have them, let alone use them.
Their use is what captures the Western powers attention, and makes our military and political leaders nervous.
Generally I have chosen not to battle through the fog of war and following propaganda enslaught over each separate incident of chemical weapons use, to concentrate on the more massive acts of genocide that even the most gullible or ablest knowing apologists of Assad fascism can't deny.
I am talking here of the genocidal destruction of Homs and Hama and rebel held Aleppo, and the extensive network of government extermination camps and prisons, into which tens of thousands of Syrian civlians and activists have disappeared into.
But if we are going to do the google thing around the Douma gas attack, you couldn't do better than this report from the Intercept.
For those who are genuinly interested in what is happening in Syria I can personally reccomend this report..
WHAT HAPPENED IN DOUMA? SEARCHING FOR FACTS IN THE FOG OF SYRIA’S PROPAGANDA WAR
The next world war may begin with a grainy, contested, online image launched onto the pages of a newspaper that has recently sacked all its journalists.
From what I've heard ever since the press conference, there is no "90% target". Let alone by geographic, demographic, or number of jabs.
At least 90%. That's what they said. That's what they mean about loosening things up with "high" vax rates. The specifics depend on the circumstances when we get to a "high" rate. Don't fall into the tory trap of assuming 90% is a target. It's not, they're just laying the groundwork to bitch again.
"It depends" sucks for people who have an attachment to firm and precise numbers, but the real world requires fuzzy logic processing sometimes.
No, not a cop out. They made the cardnial sin of not boring people to death using language that even the 1980s HHGTTG text-based computer game could parse, probably because if they had then a lot of knobs would parrot "explaining is losing" instead of "we don't know what's going oooonnnn".
Let's break this down further, shall we?
90% is in the region that is denoted "high". Probably near the base of that region, but don't be super-surprised if they start announcing things loosening up from the mid 80 percentages.
But, gosh, a high percentage of what? Fuck, we might never know.
I'll take a punt and say maybe it's to do with vaccination levels. But fully vaxed or partial? Of over 12s or over 5s? omagerd, it needs to be written in stone right now!!!
fucksake. Who gives a shit. We get there when we get there.
All races at 90% (Admittedly it would only be Maori and Pacifica, as for some odd reason Asians and Indians never appear in figures as apparently don't matter)
I heard on the radio that Bloomfield idiot said not unless Maori were at 90% (Again 90% in what contexts?)
As an aside, if the figures are still double figures at that time, do you think they will open up the country to Aucklanders at the same time school holidays start?
All races at 90% (Admittedly it would only be Maori and Pacifica, as for some odd reason Asians and Indians never appear in figures as apparently don't matter)
Some things never change and it seems that you’re still a trolling idiot.
Fair point, it measured in official background statistics, but I was more talking about mentioned in their announcements to the media and their daily party ad.
But you have made a good point and I take back what I said.
You do unbderstand that the reason for high vaccination is to stop the ICUs being overloaded so people other than covid patients can be treated?
Opening up if the ICUs will be flooded by people from a particular region or ethnicity just creates the same outcome, with the extra icing that the region or ethnicity is viewed as expendable by the government.
If you genuinely don't know why your questions can come across as trolling, try thinking harder about that.
Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi is not happy about possible govt plans to open two more quarantine facilities in Rotorua. He says one will be a fourth MIQ and the other a quarantine facility for Covid-19 infectious people.
… … … …
"Waititi said his information had come from "sources" and he was concerned about leaks of Covid-19 into the community if a quarantine facility was established in the city.
This only increases the potential for a MIQ breach leading to a community outbreak," he said. "It adds more pressure on the local health system and ultimately means more lockdowns.
"This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population."
There was a major difference between isolation and quarantine, Waititi said.
(Waititi seems to be creating a very high media profile by complaining about all sorts of things. He's very telegenic, imo, & personally I currently expect Te Pāti Māori to do very well at the next election – Gez)
… … …
"Rotorua keeps and brings those infectious, to our community," Waititi said.
'This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population.'"
… … …
Hard to say if this is primarily a political ploy or stunt, but I think he's got a point. Hope he's doing all he can meantime to arrange for eligible Rotorua district ngā tāngata katoa (everybody) to get their Covid vaccinations asap.
Both of those high value PR opportunities for Waititi. He knows his target audience.
I was watching Parliament live the day he suckered Mallard into giving awesome free publicity. The rules were that male MPs were expected to wear “business attire”, which tos most Pākehā is a suit & tie.
But there are tons of prominent Māori leaders, academics, & businessmen who wear a large hei tiki draped around their necks & hanging over their shirt front. It’s a perfectly, & very common normal tāne Māori business attire.
Mallard threw a classic Pākehā stale male hissy fit, not thinking it thru. Bingo. Waititi gets the opportunity to do – for a Māori man whose mana has just been impugned – a rollicking & very culturally appropriate haka of protest & utu – reciprocation.
Within days, Mallard lifted the requirement for men to wear ties. Big ups to Rawiri.
The “call NZ Aotearoa” petition & his & his Party’s commitment to keep calling for a name change is pure theatre, but he’ll get a lot more profile-raising mileage out of this issue too. I’m not in favour personally, bur I know two Pākehā acquaintences who agree with him.
Rawiri sometimes sails too close to the “all Pākehā are racist colonisers” line for my liking.
As for how much work he’s doing, I don’t know but I bet it’s a lot more than many Pākehā think. Māori electorates are huge, They involve talking at a lot of marare, with Māori orgs, hapu iwi, constituents, & a lot of travelling. That gets pretty wearing I imagine.
The Speaker was the hall monitor for what Parliaments ' rules committee' decides.
I thought he was in favour of a less literal interpretation of 'neck thingy' and once the committee met and changed it then the Speaker could follow the new direction
"Speaker Trevor Mallard has announced that ties are no longer mandatory in Parliament.
It comes days after a dress code stoush between him and Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi, which saw Waititi booted out for not wearing a tie.
Mallard said a Standing Orders committee meeting discussed appropriate business attire tonight and a submission on the topic was heard from Te Paati Māori (Māori Party).
"The committee did not reach a consensus but the majority of the committee was in favour of removing a requirement for ties to be part of 'appropriate business attire' for males," he said in a Tweet.
'As Speaker, I am guided by the committee's discussion and decision, and therefore ties will no longer be considered required as part of 'appropriate business attire'. I acknowledge those who felt this was an important issue worthy of further consideration.'"
… … …
Where Mallard did Waititi a huge favour was in objecting to the hei tiki being worn instead of a tie. Hugely boosted Rawiri's profile, & his mana with Māori.
Rather long but interesting watch on who's at the forefront of everything from the January 6th insurrection in the US, the anti-Muslim/anti immigrant protests across Europe and the anti-vaxx/anti-lockdown demonstrations in the west to our very own howl of protest fuckwittery.
Are we the last country on earth talking about noting else other than COVID? I am becoming very fatigued that after 18 months it seems to be the only thing the media or government are focussed on. It has almost become an obssession. We are still having daily press conferences on this, and every new bulletin opens with a daily case update, or story about people buying KFC.
Yes, it is the issue of our time, but there are other things happening out there in the world, which warrant our attention. How long will our daily obesseion continue?
A quick scan of international media shows, that something which started 18 months ago, isn't really news worthy anymore. COVID doesn't really get much of a mention out there
I have general faith in the MoH to do their job when it comes to COVID. Contact trace, isolating people and slowly rolling out the vaccine. They are doing it reasonably well to the point I don't think we need the minute by minute commentary, that we were doing in March last year.
I have a lot less faith in other government departments doing their job, so I wish we would turn, at least some of, our attention to them. Imagine if we had a daily press conference to announce the housing waiting list, homelessness statisitics and climate change targets.
Climate change and homelessness are Green Party Ministerial responsibilities, so Chloe Swarbrick could always start with some accountability from her own colleagues.
Chloe's current push is the futile and exceedingly middle class pursuit of rebuilding St James Theatre.
Chloe Swarbrick should pull her head out of her ass.
Perhaps it is all distraction as continuing legislative changes take place out of the spotlight. It is quite instructive to have pending legislation and Parliament Order papers fed to your email.
I agree with you on the inevitable stories about coffee, KFC, buying flour etc.
It's not news, it's trivia at best. As Chloe Swarbrick says about updates on housing and CC, and Maurice eludes to, there are other important issues that are being ignored.
That will learn me for watching TV news after years of giving it a wide berth.
Yes. They’re very rare, but they DO sometimes happen. Even in the centre of their landmass. That whole continent’s tectonic plate is always being squeezed by others. And sometimes I guess some ancient fold or fault cracks or shudders. Or there’s some local geographic collapse deep down under.
Yes Earthquakes are very over rare over here in Oz, there is a very large number of various fault lines in Oz to ancient volcanos & hotspots from the east coast of Nth’ern Qld all the way down to Victorian- SA Border & within the greater Melbourne area.
I live in Wellington, Scud. We get a lot of small earthquakes in Tawa, many coming from a slow slip event happening off the Western Kapiti Coast.
And there are about four or five major fault lines in the Welly region that generate huge quakes when they go. We're always waiting for The Big One on the Wellington fault.
But I hail from New Plymouth, Taranaki, where I grew up. Now ma & pa have both passed away here, I've been thinking about whether I should move back there, like ma wanted me to after she died. To be with my siblings up there.
The thing is, I grew up in the shadow of the beautiful & magnificent Mt Taranaki. And volcanologists say, geologically speaking it's due for an eruption, which might be small, or it might be blimmin massive. It's unusual for the number of times it's blown itself apart, & then just rebuilt itself.
It's only short. But this is what my Taranaki Maunga does:
I’m ex CHCH until 1998, so I’m quite used to Mother Nature rocking & rolling. We get a few deep earthquakes from Indonesia- Timor-Leste Area rattling Darwin & the odd from Tennant Creek Area. I’ve just finished reading up the Halls Fall Faultline that runs from the Halls Falls area in WA all the way up to the other side of Darwin Harbour & out to the sea.
We are approaching the point in the pandemic where we move from collectivising risk to individualising it. In the first phase it was collective, action, equality of sacrifice and no-one left behind. In the second phase it is get vaccinated, take precautions that are suitable for your risk profile, and if you are unlucky the healthcare system should (but might not) be there to help you. Normal transmission is being resumed and the government has not used the pandemic as a catalyst for changing anything important. Last year in the first L4 lockdown, we were as ripe as we'll ever be for UBI and significant poverty and inequality reduction efforts. Under pandemic conditions such things would arguably be rational, rather than political. Operationally, this government has handled the pandemic superbly, but strategically and ideologically not so much. The lessons we learned will go down the memory hole of history as we scramble back into a dysfunctional BAU.
I'm thinking AB means BAU in a very broad sense, that in the end the interests of "the economy" prevail, back to the dysfunctional neo-liberal-driven way of life. Illustrated, possibly, by Auckland’s move from L4 to L3, described by some experts as a “calculated risk”, and by others as more ideologically-driven than anything else.
Just out of interest I looked up the Polio Vaccine info and in 1956 there was 90% parental approval for child vaccination compared to only 29% in England, 42% in Scotland and 74% in NSW. We should be good for 90% here for Covid if our history of doing the right thing still holds. Interestingly the same problems were apparent then, production problems, the US refusing to export and lack of refrigeration, ( only a day or so leeway in ambient temp then).
More and more stories coming out about the what was going on in the Wuhan Lab and frankly it now seems more and more likely we are dealing with a virus that had been tinkered with… fucking insanity.
“They also planned to create chimeric viruses, genetically enhanced to infect humans more easily, and requested US$14 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to fund the work.”
Where does that link to; Cricklewood? I have learned not to click on concealed links on this site, as I imagine; so have others. Gain of Function Research is not that unusual – if that is what you are referring to?
A quick google threw up this Intercept article (limited to 3 free article views, but not otherwise paywalled) though I am not disposed to trawl through all 900+ pages of FOIA primary sources to confirm what they are saying.
On August 27, Biden announced that the intelligence inquiry was inconclusive.
Biden blamed China for failing to release critical data, but the U.S. government has also been slow to release information. The Intercept initially requested the proposals inSeptember 2020.
It doesn't seem that unreasonable to me to fund and conduct research into SARS & MERS in a virology lab. Though if it was done at the Biosafety Level 3 Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment, rather than the BL4 Wuhan Institute of Virology, then the denials that the WIoV was involved might be a way of deflecting attention from the WUCfAE. The evidence does not seem conclusive.
In any case, there is more noise than sound in the speculations on both sides of these lab leak "theories" (ie conjectures beyond what is supported by evidence). I doubt there is much good faith on either side, even if one, or both, speculations are eventually confirmed. Personally, I think all labs licensed to operate beyond BL1 (eg university teaching labs using low risk biologicals level), should be subject to regular un-notified inspection by independent teams of international experts. That's not going to happen though!
Mr Zhao, who is known for his aggressive style of diplomacy, has played an important role in spreading the "US origin" theory. Several tweets from his account last year first drew wide attention to Fort Detrick. "What's behind the closure of the biolab at Fort Detrick?" he wrote in July 2020, "When will US invite experts to investigate the origin of the virus in US?"
In recent months, his calls have been joined by Chinese diplomats based in various countries, and the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV even aired an hour-long special report, "The Dark History behind Fort Detrick", focusing on breaches of containment at the lab in 2019, to bolster claims of lax lab security echoed by Chinese officials and state media. A related hashtag has had more than 100 million views on Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent.
Yesterday, seven were infectious in the community, FFS. They’re chasing the tail, which is wagging the dog. Stomp on it, hard and fast and don’t mind the yelping dog, FFS.
It's a dangerous habit to get into chasing the gauges of the daily numbers and demand level 4 for any community cases above zero.
It's a process they're working through. they're identifying connections with previous cases for almost all new cases within a day of diagnosis. They're not getting randos coming in so much with absolutely no connection with any previous cases. So they have several clusters that are being reasonably well contained, and that will burn themselves out eventually.
Level 3 matches that risk profile. We're using the same playbook that got us out of it last time, and it seems to be working about as well as it did last time. Better, even, because we started it sooner.
I hear you but the risk with smouldering fires is that they can flare up and burst into flames at any time. I believe that a more stringent ‘bespoke’ approach is justified and warranted to place a higher firewall around existing known clusters. The persistent tail is reason enough to up the ante, IMO.
At the moment, the assessment is that the winds have died down, the main blazes have been extinguished, so it's just the slog of finding the hot spots and digging them out. that means the evacuation orders can be cancelled and people can return to the properties that were in danger.
If the winds pick up and embers transfer again, back come the monsoon buckets and evacuations. But the full court press takes a heavy toll on everyone, so only gets done when times are desperate.
Changing topic. There is a major grizzle going down with importers about the backlog of vessels waiting to come alongside at Auckland Port. History repeats itself. I well remember in 1972 on a voyage to Japan with my partner (wives privilege of accompanying officers of the sea going vessels) and arriving in Tokoyo to see rows and rows of vessels waiting to go alongside or being off loaded by barges way out in the bay. 50 plus vessels at least. I also remember the sea was like glue it was so polluted. We were going into drydock at Yokohama but the sight was one I never forgot.
Now there are 60+ vessels out in the bay in LA waiting for a berth alongside. It seems our ports have been suffering from logjams for ever and a day.
In comparison Auckland has no problems and maybe there should be less whinging from the importers and accept the circumstances.
we are dealing with a virus that had been tinkered with… fucking insanity.
I'm not sure I'd be trusting the source of that article. Not one jot.
Papers, confirmed as genuine by a former member of the Trump administration, show they were hoping to introduce "human-specific cleavage sites" to bat coronaviruses which would make it easier for the virus to enter human cells.
When Covid-19 was first genetically sequenced, scientists were puzzled about how the virus had evolved such a human-specific adaptation at the cleavage site on the spike protein, which is the reason it is so infectious.
The documents were released by Drastic, the web-based investigations team set up by scientists from across the world to look into the origins of Covid-19.
In a statement, Drastic said: "Given that we find in this proposal a discussion of the planned introduction of human-specific cleavage sites, a review by the wider scientific community of the plausibility of artificial insertion is warranted."
DRASTIC (Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19) is a loose collection of scientists and researchers investigating the origins of COVID-19, in particular the COVID-19 lab leak theory. Most scientists maintain COVID-19 likely had a natural origin, but a lab leak is still a possibility worth investigating. DRASTIC is composed of about 30 core members, whose activity is primarily organized through the social media website Twitter. They formed in February 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. DRASTIC members have called for a "full and unrestricted investigation" into the origins of COVID-19, conducted independently of the World Health Organization.
Many of DRASTIC's members use pseudonyms, while identified members have backgrounds including mycology, neuroscience, and data science. Members of DRASTIC have engaged in personal attacks against virologists and epidemiologists on Twitter, falsely accusing some of working for the Chinese Communist Party.
Perhaps but no one is flat out denying what they have released in terms of documents and given the USAs likely involvment in funding work in the Lab https://www.bbc.com/news/57932699 I think its the mostly likely source of what has proven a remarkably well adapted virus.
But it very much suits those in power not to have that exposed.
It can be a long process finding the animal source of an outbreak. Not only have you got to stumble across the correct population but additionally, you have to sample the animal at the time it is infected with the virus. Progress is however being made. A bat population in the Northern Laos region has been sampled and found to contain a very closely related covd virus. It contains the human ace receptor site though not however the furin cleavage site. But the existence of the human ace receptor site is enough to allow the possibility of the evolution of the furin cleavage site in repeated human contacts. Or a wild furin cleavage site may still be found. These things take a lot of time.
"The WHO team's main public conclusion so far is that it's "extremely unlikely" that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan. The scientists think the virus most likely started in bats, then jumped to other animals, then to humans.
Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans was part of that team that "reconstructed every step in that initial outbreak" in two weeks of investigation."
"So from everything that we've looked at and we've also visited three labs involved and also three labs that work on these viruses. From that, we have not been able to find any credible link there."
"How open and transparent were the Chinese once they let you in?
This is a topic and a mission. There are sensitivities around it … big political tensions that are around it. And that's something you cannot completely avoid in a situation like this. But once we got out of our quarantine, got into the face-to-face meetings, I think we've managed to get into real good scientific exchange with stiff discussions here and there, because [people] start from different backgrounds and different views. But I tell everyone, wait and read the report and let's discuss then. But I think we managed to get a good outcome of this meeting. I think it was in that sense quite successful."
"Is there anything that you think is necessary to know that you don't have access to?
Not really. So if you say, did the Chinese colleagues hand over the complete raw data files? No, they did not. But then again, I did not expect that in a mission like this. So we've seen a lot of information. We've been given a lot of information. We've had access to the people working on the data, aggregating the data, looking at what exact questionnaires that they used, what does the data file look like. To me, that is quite extensive data access."
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
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Liar, liar pants on fire.
Judith Collins, this morning on TVNZ Breakfast.
Collins touching on the one of the Far Right talking points. Even if it means she has to lie.
In fact the NZDF has mandatory vaccination is required before deployment overseas.
All Water Care employees and contractors at Mangere waste water treatment plant, must be vaccinated to work on that site.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries?
Is Collins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
Jenny, our media is pretty average, but (if you've got the stomach) check out some clips of Murdock's Sky News on youtube.
Frankly, they are inciting resistance to being vaccinated. As well as being blatant climate deniers!
Gutter press.
Just one example among so many: hold your nose before viewing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFoAczoHbV0
Da, I'm so stupid,I believe my own tea leaves, "It is tea leaves you use"Sharri Madson
The anti vaxxer movement has infiltrated the construction industry in Victoria. I read it online somewhere last night. They are getting better organised by the day and undermining all the hard work by the authorities and the police.
“Voices for Freedom” are doing the same thing here. Apart from pamphlet drops (got one in my letterbox last week) they are assembling outside schools and trying to coerce teenagers from being vaccinated. I expect they are spreading the lie they will become sterile.
They are becoming more vociferous and daring and imo should be outlawed. There is plenty of precedence in history during times of emergencies.
There need to be tent(s) in hospital ground for Anti vax that get covid. They should nt be let into wards.
Collins plays to her dwindling audience on the provided tvnz soapbox.
She's using the supplied rope very effectively. Was she given another free ride or actually challenged ?
Predictably appalling that’s Judith.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries? Is Collins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
Who knows? Collins reacts to everything that happens with a knee-jerk complaint about the government. Who even listens these days
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
True, but Collins is invested in whining about the guvermint purely for the sake of it. I seriously doubt any anti-vaxers who might harbour notions of organising disruptive, violent protests in NZ are going to be influenced by whatever new, daft outburst Collins has to say.
She's crashing the National Party's credibility towards zero every day. Shelf-life now very close to expiry, imo.
I don't think that Judith Collins was inciting any anti-vaxers into organising disruptive violent protests, (though that could be a side-effect). What Collins is doing with her comments,about creeping mandatory vaccination, is opportunistically scraping the bottom of the barrel for their votes.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan.
I would be very interested in seeing it.
Just how does the National Party propose to get us out of Lockdowns and/or raise vaccination levels above the 90% threshold, that the medical experts tell us will be needed to lift all Lockdown restrictions, and prevent the collapse of our health system?
I would really like to know.
It would be ironic, if Judith Collins’ plan has some level of mandatory vaccination. Now that she has gone on the record as being opposed to it.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan. I would be very interested in seeing it
… … … …
"Almost every other country that we compare ourselves to is rolling out vaccinations as quickly as they can. Our closest neighbour, Australia, has prioritized this with vaccinations starting within the next few weeks.
This means their citizens will be safer. They’ll have the certainty to get back to business. They’ll see international students and visitors return, and life for Kiwis who live in Australia will start to get back to normal.
New Zealanders can’t afford another lockdown. But even more than this, failing to secure vaccinations for our frontline workers, border staff and those who work in and around managed isolation and quarantine shows a massive disregard for the sacrifice New Zealanders made last year. It is not good enough.
We need to match Australia’s schedule. We should be like Singapore, rolling out the vaccine to frontline workers and those vulnerable New Zealanders who need it urgently."
… … … …
https://www.national.org.nz/covid-19-response
… … … …
If that's it, it's blimmin vague; lacking any useful particulars. (As is usual for Judith when reporters question her.)
I'm betting – beyond this – she doesn't actually have one.
Why America goes to war.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018812875/andrew-cockburn-how-the-american-war-machine-is-all-about-money
Or, how Australia has been conned.
The Australian public have been conned.
The Australian "defence" industry and the politicians they donate to (aka bribe) – are very much a mirror of the US war machine, and know exactly what they are doing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhfqQzMVJxI
MSM Russiagate and MSM lies on Syrian gas attacks both crumble even further into the gutter where they belong..but of course not one person in the media that uncritically pushed these obviously bullshit stories 24/7 will be held to account…nope just like all the media and journalist who willingly pushed war in Iraq in the service of power, they will face no consequences…probably because there is so much crossover in who benefits from those lies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBNvLlt1K0E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9w0LRLnBkU
Hmmmm looks like those pesky Hunter Biden emails were real after all.
The disinformation wasn't Russian , it came from all those partisan journos ready to ditch the integrity of their trade so they could belong to the "right" crowd
Politico was one of those outlets.Now one of its writers has come out with a book verifying the emails , with recipients affirming .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10014239/DC-accepts-Hunter-laptop-real-New-book-Bidens-cites-sources-verifying-damaging-emails.html
But what the hell, moving on, who cares? job done.
Just like your piece about the Clinton campaign lawyer lying, silence from all those ardent truth seekers…
Still running interference for Russian imperialism and Assad fascism?
American imperialism is not the only evil in the world.
https://thestandard.org.nz/heroes-2/#comment-1298465
@Jenny how to get there…can you please explain to us exactly how highlighting the fact that Liberal MSM has been disseminating misinformation on the completely fabricated Russian collusion conspiracy for years on end, also completely disregarding all public information on the Douma chemical attack that didn't fit with their state sanctioned narrative, to the point that the BBC has been forced into a pubic apology is "running interference for Russian imperialism and Assad fascism"?…I would be interested to see what tortured logic you come up with…I am sure it couldn't be any worse than the years of bullshit that has been spewed out by the usual suspects around here defending their masters like good little soldiers…but who knows you might be a better soldier than them….fire away.
I am not going to play google tag with you, and waste my time to go over line by line the specifics of the Douma gas attack. Not because I can't, but what's the point.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians killed by the Assad regime are not being killed in gas attacks.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians being killed by the Assad regime and their Iranian allies and Russian patron, are not by gas attacks, but by so called 'conventional weapons', and in industrial scale extermination camps, into which tens of thousands of Syrians have been disappeared into.
Everyone who knows anything of Syria has heard of Sednaya, the biggest and most notorious of the Assad regime's death camps.
19 kilometres North of Damascus everbody knows where Sednaya is.
But I tell you what. Not one of the Western journalists and apologists who have visited the Damascus as guests of the Assad regime, have ever asked for a tour of Sednaya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQni3qn6GIU&t=1s
" industrial scale extermination camps"
Lol
'
For you Brigid, I have one word.
Sednaya
Don't support fascism. (It really shouldn't have to be said).
LOL?
You can dispute the evidence, (Something I notice you don't do).
So my question for you Brigid;
Is what sort of low life laughs at the mass extermination of human beings?.
This thread is about Russiagate and Douma specifically…your obfuscating has not answered my question even slightly…of course.
But then you and others seem to be quite OK with your media lying right to your face..infact you seem to like it, which is kind of weird…but hey different strokes for different folks I say.
Douma at the time was under heavy rocket and air attack by the Assad regime.
The pattern is much the same, and still being practiced by the regime's forces, indiscriminate bombing and shelling of all rebel held towns and cities.
The contested Douma gas attack was only one incident in a much broader government offensive that killed many more civilians and rebel fighters.
Weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons arnd gas weapons are only for our side to have. Third World totalitarian leaders like Kim Jong-Un of Basha Al Assad are not allowed to have them, let alone use them.
Their use is what captures the Western powers attention, and makes our military and political leaders nervous.
Generally I have chosen not to battle through the fog of war and following propaganda enslaught over each separate incident of chemical weapons use, to concentrate on the more massive acts of genocide that even the most gullible or ablest knowing apologists of Assad fascism can't deny.
I am talking here of the genocidal destruction of Homs and Hama and rebel held Aleppo, and the extensive network of government extermination camps and prisons, into which tens of thousands of Syrian civlians and activists have disappeared into.
But if we are going to do the google thing around the Douma gas attack, you couldn't do better than this report from the Intercept.
For those who are genuinly interested in what is happening in Syria I can personally reccomend this report..
The 90% target is too broad. It should be 90% for every age bracket, and every ethnicity.
Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but has she clarified whether it is 90% had1 jab, both jabs, or had the opportunity to get a jab?
It seems to get mixed up depending who is talking.
From what I've heard ever since the press conference, there is no "90% target". Let alone by geographic, demographic, or number of jabs.
At least 90%. That's what they said. That's what they mean about loosening things up with "high" vax rates. The specifics depend on the circumstances when we get to a "high" rate. Don't fall into the tory trap of assuming 90% is a target. It's not, they're just laying the groundwork to bitch again.
"It depends" sucks for people who have an attachment to firm and precise numbers, but the real world requires fuzzy logic processing sometimes.
Sorry mate but that is a cop out on their part.
90% of what
No, not a cop out. They made the cardnial sin of not boring people to death using language that even the 1980s HHGTTG text-based computer game could parse, probably because if they had then a lot of knobs would parrot "explaining is losing" instead of "we don't know what's going oooonnnn".
Let's break this down further, shall we?
90% is in the region that is denoted "high". Probably near the base of that region, but don't be super-surprised if they start announcing things loosening up from the mid 80 percentages.
But, gosh, a high percentage of what? Fuck, we might never know.
I'll take a punt and say maybe it's to do with vaccination levels. But fully vaxed or partial? Of over 12s or over 5s? omagerd, it needs to be written in stone right now!!!
fucksake. Who gives a shit. We get there when we get there.
Yes obviously vaccinations.
But 90% of Aucklanders?
1 jab or both?
All regions at 90%
All races at 90% (Admittedly it would only be Maori and Pacifica, as for some odd reason Asians and Indians never appear in figures as apparently don't matter)
I heard on the radio that Bloomfield idiot said not unless Maori were at 90% (Again 90% in what contexts?)
As an aside, if the figures are still double figures at that time, do you think they will open up the country to Aucklanders at the same time school holidays start?
Some things never change and it seems that you’re still a trolling idiot.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data#ethnicity
Also scroll down to Vaccine uptake per 1,000 people by ethnicity
Indians and Chinese, for example, are Asians. Humans are a race.
Fair point, it measured in official background statistics, but I was more talking about mentioned in their announcements to the media and their daily party ad.
But you have made a good point and I take back what I said.
And I fail to see how that post was trolling btw
Trolling?
Hint
That Bloomfield IDIOT
Sorry. Still don't see how that is trolling. Am I not allowed to think someone is an idiot?
You do unbderstand that the reason for high vaccination is to stop the ICUs being overloaded so people other than covid patients can be treated?
Opening up if the ICUs will be flooded by people from a particular region or ethnicity just creates the same outcome, with the extra icing that the region or ethnicity is viewed as expendable by the government.
If you genuinely don't know why your questions can come across as trolling, try thinking harder about that.
Of course I do.
I would just like to know the context of the %
Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi is not happy about possible govt plans to open two more quarantine facilities in Rotorua. He says one will be a fourth MIQ and the other a quarantine facility for Covid-19 infectious people.
… … … …
"Waititi said his information had come from "sources" and he was concerned about leaks of Covid-19 into the community if a quarantine facility was established in the city.
This only increases the potential for a MIQ breach leading to a community outbreak," he said. "It adds more pressure on the local health system and ultimately means more lockdowns.
"This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population."
There was a major difference between isolation and quarantine, Waititi said.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/covid-19-coronavirus-delta-outbreak-mp-rawiri-waititi-claims-govt-plans-quarantine-facility-for-rotorua/YIUWMNYGNEOFU2BC6IDORTBW6Y
… … …
(Waititi seems to be creating a very high media profile by complaining about all sorts of things. He's very telegenic, imo, & personally I currently expect Te Pāti Māori to do very well at the next election – Gez)
… … …
"Rotorua keeps and brings those infectious, to our community," Waititi said.
'This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population.'"
… … …
Hard to say if this is primarily a political ploy or stunt, but I think he's got a point. Hope he's doing all he can meantime to arrange for eligible Rotorua district ngā tāngata katoa (everybody) to get their Covid vaccinations asap.
It's the only thing he's done so far that could be mistaken for work – going ballistic over ties was just grandstanding, as is his push on Aotearoa.
Both of those high value PR opportunities for Waititi. He knows his target audience.
I was watching Parliament live the day he suckered Mallard into giving awesome free publicity. The rules were that male MPs were expected to wear “business attire”, which tos most Pākehā is a suit & tie.
But there are tons of prominent Māori leaders, academics, & businessmen who wear a large hei tiki draped around their necks & hanging over their shirt front. It’s a perfectly, & very common normal tāne Māori business attire.
Mallard threw a classic Pākehā stale male hissy fit, not thinking it thru. Bingo. Waititi gets the opportunity to do – for a Māori man whose mana has just been impugned – a rollicking & very culturally appropriate haka of protest & utu – reciprocation.
Within days, Mallard lifted the requirement for men to wear ties. Big ups to Rawiri.
The “call NZ Aotearoa” petition & his & his Party’s commitment to keep calling for a name change is pure theatre, but he’ll get a lot more profile-raising mileage out of this issue too. I’m not in favour personally, bur I know two Pākehā acquaintences who agree with him.
Rawiri sometimes sails too close to the “all Pākehā are racist colonisers” line for my liking.
As for how much work he’s doing, I don’t know but I bet it’s a lot more than many Pākehā think. Māori electorates are huge, They involve talking at a lot of marare, with Māori orgs, hapu iwi, constituents, & a lot of travelling. That gets pretty wearing I imagine.
The Speaker was the hall monitor for what Parliaments ' rules committee' decides.
I thought he was in favour of a less literal interpretation of 'neck thingy' and once the committee met and changed it then the Speaker could follow the new direction
Herald:
"Speaker Trevor Mallard has announced that ties are no longer mandatory in Parliament.
It comes days after a dress code stoush between him and Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi, which saw Waititi booted out for not wearing a tie.
Mallard said a Standing Orders committee meeting discussed appropriate business attire tonight and a submission on the topic was heard from Te Paati Māori (Māori Party).
"The committee did not reach a consensus but the majority of the committee was in favour of removing a requirement for ties to be part of 'appropriate business attire' for males," he said in a Tweet.
'As Speaker, I am guided by the committee's discussion and decision, and therefore ties will no longer be considered required as part of 'appropriate business attire'. I acknowledge those who felt this was an important issue worthy of further consideration.'"
… … …
Where Mallard did Waititi a huge favour was in objecting to the hei tiki being worn instead of a tie. Hugely boosted Rawiri's profile, & his mana with Māori.
Mallard could've just let it go.
By making it an issue it got to be changed .
Isnt that how change happens ?
Wow. Crazy stuff in Melbourne. Anti-lockdown, antivaxx zombies gather to riot, harass nurses and spread chaos.
https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1439437673685389312?s=20
Unions deny any association with the mob of grifters and denialists
https://twitter.com/lhilakari/status/1440163312897957888?s=20
Looks like our bubble with Australia won't be viable again for a long time. The plague of fuckwittery is particularly virulent
Rather long but interesting watch on who's at the forefront of everything from the January 6th insurrection in the US, the anti-Muslim/anti immigrant protests across Europe and the anti-vaxx/anti-lockdown demonstrations in the west to our very own howl of protest fuckwittery.
It ain't poor people.
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1eaJbnjnojYJX
You sure about that?
https://twitter.com/dnforca/status/1440571893388484612
Are we the last country on earth talking about noting else other than COVID? I am becoming very fatigued that after 18 months it seems to be the only thing the media or government are focussed on. It has almost become an obssession. We are still having daily press conferences on this, and every new bulletin opens with a daily case update, or story about people buying KFC.
Yes, it is the issue of our time, but there are other things happening out there in the world, which warrant our attention. How long will our daily obesseion continue?
A quick scan of international media shows, that something which started 18 months ago, isn't really news worthy anymore. COVID doesn't really get much of a mention out there
We are a peculiar little nation at time.
https://edition.cnn.com/
https://www.bbc.com/news
https://www.smh.com.au/
https://www.theguardian.com/international
https://www.bbc.com/news
Rant over.
Here's hoping for daily 1pm updates of the other crises afflicting NZ and the world: housing, inequality and climate change.
https://twitter.com/_chloeswarbrick/status/1440053826774454277?s=20
https://twitter.com/gumdigger/status/1439858037955563523?s=20
Absolutely.
I have general faith in the MoH to do their job when it comes to COVID. Contact trace, isolating people and slowly rolling out the vaccine. They are doing it reasonably well to the point I don't think we need the minute by minute commentary, that we were doing in March last year.
I have a lot less faith in other government departments doing their job, so I wish we would turn, at least some of, our attention to them. Imagine if we had a daily press conference to announce the housing waiting list, homelessness statisitics and climate change targets.
Climate change and homelessness are Green Party Ministerial responsibilities, so Chloe Swarbrick could always start with some accountability from her own colleagues.
Chloe's current push is the futile and exceedingly middle class pursuit of rebuilding St James Theatre.
Chloe Swarbrick should pull her head out of her ass.
Perhaps it is all distraction as continuing legislative changes take place out of the spotlight. It is quite instructive to have pending legislation and Parliament Order papers fed to your email.
I agree with you on the inevitable stories about coffee, KFC, buying flour etc.
It's not news, it's trivia at best. As Chloe Swarbrick says about updates on housing and CC, and Maurice eludes to, there are other important issues that are being ignored.
That will learn me for watching TV news after years of giving it a wide berth.
Australia has earthquakes?
https://twitter.com/TimothyJ_23/status/1440458736640794628
Yes. They’re very rare, but they DO sometimes happen. Even in the centre of their landmass. That whole continent’s tectonic plate is always being squeezed by others. And sometimes I guess some ancient fold or fault cracks or shudders. Or there’s some local geographic collapse deep down under.
My understanding anyway.
🙄 *geographic = geological
Yes Earthquakes are very over rare over here in Oz, there is a very large number of various fault lines in Oz to ancient volcanos & hotspots from the east coast of Nth’ern Qld all the way down to Victorian- SA Border & within the greater Melbourne area.
I live in Wellington, Scud. We get a lot of small earthquakes in Tawa, many coming from a slow slip event happening off the Western Kapiti Coast.
And there are about four or five major fault lines in the Welly region that generate huge quakes when they go. We're always waiting for The Big One on the Wellington fault.
But I hail from New Plymouth, Taranaki, where I grew up. Now ma & pa have both passed away here, I've been thinking about whether I should move back there, like ma wanted me to after she died. To be with my siblings up there.
The thing is, I grew up in the shadow of the beautiful & magnificent Mt Taranaki. And volcanologists say, geologically speaking it's due for an eruption, which might be small, or it might be blimmin massive. It's unusual for the number of times it's blown itself apart, & then just rebuilt itself.
It's only short. But this is what my Taranaki Maunga does:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GljllvKlTac
I’m ex CHCH until 1998, so I’m quite used to Mother Nature rocking & rolling. We get a few deep earthquakes from Indonesia- Timor-Leste Area rattling Darwin & the odd from Tennant Creek Area. I’ve just finished reading up the Halls Fall Faultline that runs from the Halls Falls area in WA all the way up to the other side of Darwin Harbour & out to the sea.
Newcastle, 1989.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Newcastle_earthquake
We are approaching the point in the pandemic where we move from collectivising risk to individualising it. In the first phase it was collective, action, equality of sacrifice and no-one left behind. In the second phase it is get vaccinated, take precautions that are suitable for your risk profile, and if you are unlucky the healthcare system should (but might not) be there to help you. Normal transmission is being resumed and the government has not used the pandemic as a catalyst for changing anything important. Last year in the first L4 lockdown, we were as ripe as we'll ever be for UBI and significant poverty and inequality reduction efforts. Under pandemic conditions such things would arguably be rational, rather than political. Operationally, this government has handled the pandemic superbly, but strategically and ideologically not so much. The lessons we learned will go down the memory hole of history as we scramble back into a dysfunctional BAU.
yep. Although I'm not convinced we will go back to BAU. The vaccine isn't a silver bullet.
I'm thinking AB means BAU in a very broad sense, that in the end the interests of "the economy" prevail, back to the dysfunctional neo-liberal-driven way of life. Illustrated, possibly, by Auckland’s move from L4 to L3, described by some experts as a “calculated risk”, and by others as more ideologically-driven than anything else.
I used "BAU" too loosely (this damn writing thing is so hard to get right), but meant in that broad sense you suggest.
How many lives has Covid lockdown saved in Melbourne this morning? Bet the mad mob leaders say "It was the fucking gummint mate ".
Just out of interest I looked up the Polio Vaccine info and in 1956 there was 90% parental approval for child vaccination compared to only 29% in England, 42% in Scotland and 74% in NSW. We should be good for 90% here for Covid if our history of doing the right thing still holds. Interestingly the same problems were apparent then, production problems, the US refusing to export and lack of refrigeration, ( only a day or so leeway in ambient temp then).
More and more stories coming out about the what was going on in the Wuhan Lab and frankly it now seems more and more likely we are dealing with a virus that had been tinkered with… fucking insanity.
“They also planned to create chimeric viruses, genetically enhanced to infect humans more easily, and requested US$14 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to fund the work.”
Where does that link to; Cricklewood? I have learned not to click on concealed links on this site, as I imagine; so have others. Gain of Function Research is not that unusual – if that is what you are referring to?
A quick google threw up this Intercept article (limited to 3 free article views, but not otherwise paywalled) though I am not disposed to trawl through all 900+ pages of FOIA primary sources to confirm what they are saying.
https://theintercept.com/2021/09/06/new-details-emerge-about-coronavirus-research-at-chinese-lab/
It doesn't seem that unreasonable to me to fund and conduct research into SARS & MERS in a virology lab. Though if it was done at the Biosafety Level 3 Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment, rather than the BL4 Wuhan Institute of Virology, then the denials that the WIoV was involved might be a way of deflecting attention from the WUCfAE. The evidence does not seem conclusive.
In any case, there is more noise than sound in the speculations on both sides of these lab leak "theories" (ie conjectures beyond what is supported by evidence). I doubt there is much good faith on either side, even if one, or both, speculations are eventually confirmed. Personally, I think all labs licensed to operate beyond BL1 (eg university teaching labs using low risk biologicals level), should be subject to regular un-notified inspection by independent teams of international experts. That's not going to happen though!
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58273322
Links back the Herald
23 cases today. All but 1 linked to known clusters.
Covid-19 case update: 23 new community cases reported | RNZ News
Yesterday, seven were infectious in the community, FFS. They’re chasing the tail, which is wagging the dog. Stomp on it, hard and fast and don’t mind the yelping dog, FFS.
I've generally found it helpful every few months to go back to the implementation criteria for different alert levels.
It's a dangerous habit to get into chasing the gauges of the daily numbers and demand level 4 for any community cases above zero.
It's a process they're working through. they're identifying connections with previous cases for almost all new cases within a day of diagnosis. They're not getting randos coming in so much with absolutely no connection with any previous cases. So they have several clusters that are being reasonably well contained, and that will burn themselves out eventually.
Level 3 matches that risk profile. We're using the same playbook that got us out of it last time, and it seems to be working about as well as it did last time. Better, even, because we started it sooner.
I hear you but the risk with smouldering fires is that they can flare up and burst into flames at any time. I believe that a more stringent ‘bespoke’ approach is justified and warranted to place a higher firewall around existing known clusters. The persistent tail is reason enough to up the ante, IMO.
Fire is a fair analogy.
At the moment, the assessment is that the winds have died down, the main blazes have been extinguished, so it's just the slog of finding the hot spots and digging them out. that means the evacuation orders can be cancelled and people can return to the properties that were in danger.
If the winds pick up and embers transfer again, back come the monsoon buckets and evacuations. But the full court press takes a heavy toll on everyone, so only gets done when times are desperate.
Changing topic. There is a major grizzle going down with importers about the backlog of vessels waiting to come alongside at Auckland Port. History repeats itself. I well remember in 1972 on a voyage to Japan with my partner (wives privilege of accompanying officers of the sea going vessels) and arriving in Tokoyo to see rows and rows of vessels waiting to go alongside or being off loaded by barges way out in the bay. 50 plus vessels at least. I also remember the sea was like glue it was so polluted. We were going into drydock at Yokohama but the sight was one I never forgot.
Now there are 60+ vessels out in the bay in LA waiting for a berth alongside. It seems our ports have been suffering from logjams for ever and a day.
In comparison Auckland has no problems and maybe there should be less whinging from the importers and accept the circumstances.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58643717
I'm not sure I'd be trusting the source of that article. Not one jot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRASTIC
DRASTIC (Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19) is a loose collection of scientists and researchers investigating the origins of COVID-19, in particular the COVID-19 lab leak theory. Most scientists maintain COVID-19 likely had a natural origin, but a lab leak is still a possibility worth investigating. DRASTIC is composed of about 30 core members, whose activity is primarily organized through the social media website Twitter. They formed in February 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. DRASTIC members have called for a "full and unrestricted investigation" into the origins of COVID-19, conducted independently of the World Health Organization.
Many of DRASTIC's members use pseudonyms, while identified members have backgrounds including mycology, neuroscience, and data science. Members of DRASTIC have engaged in personal attacks against virologists and epidemiologists on Twitter, falsely accusing some of working for the Chinese Communist Party.
Perhaps but no one is flat out denying what they have released in terms of documents and given the USAs likely involvment in funding work in the Lab https://www.bbc.com/news/57932699 I think its the mostly likely source of what has proven a remarkably well adapted virus.
But it very much suits those in power not to have that exposed.
or, like, shit just happens sometimes. and this virus is that shit this time.
It can be a long process finding the animal source of an outbreak. Not only have you got to stumble across the correct population but additionally, you have to sample the animal at the time it is infected with the virus. Progress is however being made. A bat population in the Northern Laos region has been sampled and found to contain a very closely related covd virus. It contains the human ace receptor site though not however the furin cleavage site. But the existence of the human ace receptor site is enough to allow the possibility of the evolution of the furin cleavage site in repeated human contacts. Or a wild furin cleavage site may still be found. These things take a lot of time.
Link
Good reason not to trust the source
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/02/16/968375658/virologist-on-wuhan-trip-seafood-market-not-the-whole-story-in-early-outbreak
"The WHO team's main public conclusion so far is that it's "extremely unlikely" that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan. The scientists think the virus most likely started in bats, then jumped to other animals, then to humans.
Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans was part of that team that "reconstructed every step in that initial outbreak" in two weeks of investigation."
"So from everything that we've looked at and we've also visited three labs involved and also three labs that work on these viruses. From that, we have not been able to find any credible link there."
"How open and transparent were the Chinese once they let you in?
This is a topic and a mission. There are sensitivities around it … big political tensions that are around it. And that's something you cannot completely avoid in a situation like this. But once we got out of our quarantine, got into the face-to-face meetings, I think we've managed to get into real good scientific exchange with stiff discussions here and there, because [people] start from different backgrounds and different views. But I tell everyone, wait and read the report and let's discuss then. But I think we managed to get a good outcome of this meeting. I think it was in that sense quite successful."
"Is there anything that you think is necessary to know that you don't have access to?
Not really. So if you say, did the Chinese colleagues hand over the complete raw data files? No, they did not. But then again, I did not expect that in a mission like this. So we've seen a lot of information. We've been given a lot of information. We've had access to the people working on the data, aggregating the data, looking at what exact questionnaires that they used, what does the data file look like. To me, that is quite extensive data access."