Rachel Joanne Tomkinson filed a proceeding requesting a High Court judicial review of two trespass notices, of two years each for non-compliance of mask mandates – citing “freedom to practice my religious liberties under my Human Rights Act”. Tomkinson, who represented herself, named Countdown Timaru and New World Timaru as the defendants.
In her judgement released on October 13, Justice Rachel Dunningham unequivocally struck out the proceedings, which were referred to her under a rule used when a registrar believes the proceeding is “plainly an abuse of the process of the Court”.
She said “right-thinking people” would regard the Court as exercising “very poor control of its processes” if it allowed Tomkinson’s one paragraph statement of claim “to be regarded as a proper document”.
But would "left-thinking people" agree?? Why is the judiciary trying to get away with a policy of discriminating against folks who are sufficiently competent that they can make a legal claim in a single paragraph?
We know that lawyers are trained to take forever to get to any point they are pretending to make. Obfuscation has been endemic in legal process since empire begain to use it as strategy for ruling the masses. Incomprehensible legal documents of inordinate length remain a useful tool of the patriarchy for oppressing people.
Dunningham said she had made the assumption that Tomkinson had been banned from entering the two supermarkets because she refused to wear a mask and is objecting on the grounds the mask rule infringes her human rights, including her religious beliefs.
“The nexus between the requirement to wear a mask in the supermarkets in question and the impact on [Tomkinson's] religious beliefs is not specified.”
Yeah, specifying a nexus is essential in legal process, damn right! One up for the judge on that point! It was disappointing to see no reference to God telling Rachel not to wear the mask, though.
Traditionalists will be dismayed at this. It leaves open the possibility that she's a postmodern religionist: "No, God didn't tell me that. I listened, but he didn't speak. I deduced that he wanted me to issue my own interpretation of his will. So I did!"
"There are some things which are assertions, and there are some things which are matters of fact," Mallard said. "My old propping mate Pem Bird who I played quite a bit of rugby against in the King Country some time ago is properly described as a leading political figure and I think the member himself will know history in that way – it's just a matter of record," he said.
"I take umbrage to the fact that we have mentioned a kaumatua in this room that has taken a position of a professional physician in that community that has created that particular assertion that Māori are encouraging people to get vaccinated – I think that's absolutely wrong"
Huh? Well, maybe this will clarify:
Hipkins jumped into the fray, asking Robertson whether "having prominent Māori political figures actively discouraging people from being vaccinated help or hinder the vaccination effort". Waititi took offence to this statement, which was a coded reference to former Māori party President Pem Bird who has been calling for more vaccine choice in his community, rather than just the Pfizer vaccine.
Two possible pathways to the future: wheel in an ecologist to explain the merit of biodiversity, or wheel in an All Black to explain the merit of keeping an eye on the ball…
Pem Bird on RNZ was wanting the French vaccine to be made available. Well because its a dead inactive covid cell type it takes longer to develop .Which will not be available till at least April next year. By then Covid Delta will have done its damage . This is irresponsible leadership.
This will be a disaster for Maori who are not vaccinated.
This would be a good headline grabber for Dr Reti who could go to areas where Maori have low vaccination Rates.
Or the Labour Maori caucus could turn up and help. Something urgent needs to happen.
Tricledrown, They did have a very quick meeting in the North at short notice to form a plan of action. Hipkins had written to Reti who agreed to help, but then complained at the short notice "because he was out vaccinating" lol That was a broadside at Kelvin. It is happening. Even with the disagreements and ruffled feathers.
I think the whole thing is explained by the line in your first quote.
""My old propping mate Pem Bird who I played quite a bit of rugby against in the King Country some time ago"
That explains both Mr Bird's rather eccentric views and Trevor's appalling display as Speaker. Play enough Rugby, particularly in the front row and you can expect early onset dementia and probable CTE. Perhaps they should both retire and join the claim of other, although much better, players in seeking compensation?
Interesting. Murupara currently at 32%. The govt ought to despatch an ambassador to that independent republic toute suite!
Ole Birdie says "We have a natural distrust of government." Well, hard to argue, eh? Been thataway myself since my teenage rebel years. But there's a difference between habitual bias and what folks oughta do when a pandemic hits.
The ambassador ought to stand in the mainstreet & yell "It's like a tsunami!" Folks might notice enough to stop & think.
Oh, just listened to more & Kiri Allan reckons its up to 42% so maybe the message is slowly getting traction.
You can see why he hit the top of the Labour Party so fast: bland is good! A classic demonstration of Labour intellectual heft is on display here. Spans the entire spectrum from banal to vapid with a pit-stop at vacuous in the middle.
Rudd said he was reluctant to offer Jacinda Ardern any advice on how to manage US-China tensions
Well, thank God for that!! There was always a danger she might actually listen.
So its been mandated that all Corrections staff that have contact with prisoners need to have their first jab by the end of the month and 2nd by December
Even though I'm fully jabbed up I don't agree with this for a couple of reasons.
1. We're getting jabbed up to protect prisoners but prisoners aren't getting forced to be jabbed even though some are getting released in the middle of the pandemic
2. Continuing on from 1, we get the jab to protect prisoners but visitors don't have to be jabbed. If we have to so prisoners are protected why not their visitors
3. If you don't get the jab you probably won't have a job and then if you don't find another job you go on the benefit so from paying taxes and not having the jab you…aren't paying taxes and still don't have the jab
4. No jab no job so why not no jab no benefit given the amount of hold outs in lower socio economic groups
5. I don't like this mandatory vaccine business, I really don't like "don't question the science", slippery slope and all that
So what's your point PR? I'm sure if you'd been through our penal system you wouldn't be lining up for a jab. I doubt if you would be lining up for a job either ,because you wouldn't get one.
Strikes me your no.5 says it all. You really don't trust science. All the evidence shows it does a better job than a pie in the sky concept based solely on 'faith'.
Doesn't take much for the old sexism to rear its ugly head on here does it
Sure I'll just tell my wife to forget her career and uproot her to a life on a farm eh because that's what the little lady's there for isn't it, just support the man
Despite following your instruction it's still not obvious. Could you please just quote the sexist part out to me so I can understand where I'm missing it. Thanks in advance.
There was no mention of your wife or her career prior to your allegation of sexism. If you had said "but what about my wife and her career if I relocate to pursue a new career?" and Trickledrown replied something like "tell her to give it up and support you like a good wife should" then you may have a point.
But it seems the conversation on this screen doesn't match the one in your head so perhaps you owe Trickledrown an apology for alleging sexism.
See heres the thing, Tricledrown suggested that I should find another job, a job in which moving would come with it.
Why?
I'm good at my job, I live close by and it pays for my mortgage, retirement and holidays plus its pretty secure work.
Having this job also allows my wife to have more uncertainty in her job so I find it pretty damn disrespectful for someone to just say start an entirely new career in a field in which I have zero interest in without even bothering to consider what it might take to start that new career like its no big deal.
You think of that at all?
Irrespective of whether or not I have a wife hes telling to simply upsticks and move and start a new career
One of the things on this site I've noticed is that if someone on the right suggests someone unemployed move for better job prospects then that gets viewed pretty damn negatively.
So no I don't 'perhaps' owe an apology to anyone.
If we're to end sexism on this site then it needs to be called out when it happens, not let it slide just because you happen to disagree with the politics of the person calling it out.
Thanks for the reply. It's clear there was no sexism in what Trickledrown suggested, at most it was simply a rude and obnoxious suggestion to move elsewhere. Best of luck to you and your wife and thanks for working in your chosen field which must have its difficulties. Please do your best to help rehabilitate your "clients" if at all possible.
Trump, whose companies have a long history of filing for bankruptcy, announced a deal Wednesday night to bring a new media company public through what's known as a SPAC, or a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation. Trump Media & Technology Group, chaired by Trump, said it will launch a new social media platform that the former president promises will "stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech."
How scared are tyrants Zuck, Jake, etc?
The media company has agreed to combine with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a blank check company that exists solely to merge with private firms to take them public. The Nasdaq-listed shell company is led by Patrick Orlando, who is also the CEO of Yunhong International, a SPAC based in Wuhan
Real tricky things come out of Wuhan, eh? So yeah, I reckon Zuck & Jake will run scared awhile. Dunno about the strategy of issuing blank cheques tho. Could be financial advisers will look at that & go "Tut tut!"
I don't think there is an official Hillsong position, but Brian Houston (who founded Hillsong) said that it's a "personal decision for each individual to make with the counsel of medical professionals."
Me too! I was a young teen, but I remember the 'let those who ride decide' stickers. I bought a motorbike in the late '70's and I don't recall needing any law telling me to wear a helmet. I do however remember my mother saying if she saw me take off without the helmet she'd call the police on me. Ah, those were the days.
My 1957 BMW R50 which I bought in 1968. It was originally sold in Pretoria SA. The original owner rode it up through Africa, around Europe, down through Turkey and Afghanistan (as you could in those days) India and had it shipped to Perth. He then rode across the Nullarbor Plain to Melbourne and had it shipped to NZ. I bought the bike in Wellington and rode it for a number of years until I joined the RNZN in 1974. It was stored in parts until 2016 when I rebuilt it again as you see it now. Unfortunately the magneto has lost its magnetism over the past 50 years and there is no spark so it's not going at the moment. 🙁
Neither involve a medical 'intervention'. And with smoking, there's another fundamental difference – no-one can be protected against second hand smoking. But as a fully vaccinated adult, I am extremely unlikely to a) contract Covid or b) have a significant adverse reaction if I do.
The torching of cell phone towers, the sabotaging of the vaccine roll out. These sorts of crimes should all be considered crimes of low level Far Right terrorism, and investigated thoroughly and prosecuted accordingly with penalties severe enough to discourage like minded attacks.
But as yet we have not seen one apprehension or prosecution.
Anti-vaxxers making fake vaccination bookings
5:29pmSource:
Suspected anti-vaxxers have been making bogus Covid-19 vaccination bookings in one of the least protected areas of the country….
….."To the people who are trying to book in it just looks like, 'oh this is hopeless'. And how many times do you try when the bookings are full up all the time?" she said.
Tairāwhiti already had some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, with 74 percent of people having had at least one dose of the vaccine, well below the national average.
The rates were 63 percent for Māori and local health teams had crowdfunded this week for a vaccine bus to be able to reach more.
Dr Murton said anti-vaxxers were entitled to their own view but had no right to take away other people's choice to get vaccinated.
It's bloody tragic, and they are getting away with it.
Why are we spending millions of dollars every year on our security services, who we give extraordinary powers of surveilance to. Why haven't we seen even one arrest for these attacks on our pandemic response?
Do our spooks need a performance based pay cut, to get off their behinds and spur them into action?
Jenny how did we get to this. I agree.Our spies only seem interested in spying on greenies .what do we spend all this money on .When they don't seem to be able to find real threats.These saboteurs are doing the same thing as terrorists .The end result is people dying so our spies should be chasing the health terrorists. The greenies have killed no one but have had huge spying resources wasted on unnecessary surveillance.
BBC's Question Time shows the uninformed burbling that accompanies discussions. It appears to me that none of the first three, the questioner, the Labour MP or Fiona Bruce have investigated for themselves Prof Stock's work.
That uninformed meandering is abruptly halted when Fiona Bruce asks Robert Winston to respond in regards to his role at Wessex University and he replies as a biologist. (43:50)
Dare I say, a typical analytical male response, disregarding the niceties of emotional fluff that the other panelists get tangled up in. Thanks for picking out the only decent bit from the tedium.
Good stuff. So frustrating to see others tangled up in knots about how people should always be nice and polite to one another. Of course, that's appropriate for social interactions. But not for law and science where technical accuracy and clarity of terms is a paramount concern, not tiptoeing around feelings.
Our medical complex can still not cope, will not cope as evidenced by the kiddies flue outbreak this winter. No matter how many people are vaccinated. I think that really is the crux of the matter. The fact that for the last 18 month very little was done to bolster our health sector with tools, good wages, retention of people leaving to oz, and training and hiring.
So yeah, us vaccinated people have to be protected from non vaccinated people, never mind that chances are it is the vaccinated ones without masks that will spread Covid like warm butter on a toast, cause 'I am vaccinated!"
disclaimer, i am vaccinated.
So, wear your mask, keep distance, sanitze, and don't insist in large concerts or festivals for a year or three.
Like some others here, I am a regular attendee at hospital. The last two regular monthly appointments during lockdown have only taken place because I have rung up to query after radio silence. They just haven't got around to ensuring those regular treatment appointment notifications and schedules are maintained.
…us vaccinated people have to be protected from non vaccinated people,…
Excuse my ignorance here…but surely your vaccinations protect you from getting sick from Te Virus? No?
And because it is such a clever little injection it will only allow you to be infected by an unvaccinated person. No?
So this apartheid system is more about protecting the capacity of the public health system rather than actually having to physically protect the vaccinated from the unvaccinated…because, like, they are "fucking filth" etc etc?
A public health system…and I should not need to remind anyone purporting to identify as 'left wing'…that has been deliberately and systematically degraded over the past thirty years, at least.
Surely to goodness y'all have not forgotten the horrendous waiting lists that existed in the Beforetimes? The 6 hour plus waits in A & E?
And sorry Sabine…you might be aware that the Miracle Injection from the Pfizer Gods is far from effective at preventing transmission of Te Virus, and indeed will give the Double Shot an unfortunate sense of safety…but many don't because the hard sell has been so relentless.
And also, it would seem anecdotally, that the Double Shot are not inclined towards volunteering for the Brain Scrape because they truly believe they carry no virus. We here are unlikely to ever have a true indication of the ratio of vaccinated/unvaccinated infected when there are outbreaks. Luckily, this work has been done. I assume the PM is aware of this?
Such a pity that our government has failed on so many levels prior to Te Virus.
But hey. All's good. The Double Shot can party hard this summer and the poor, downtrodden hospitality sector can vaccine passport check its way back into business.
So yeah, us vaccinated people have to be protected from non vaccinated people, never mind that chances are it is the vaccinated ones without masks that will spread Covid like warm butter on a toast, cause 'I am vaccinated!"
Considering that i said non of what you speak of, i will re-iterate my point again.
Any one who is not vaccinated must and should be scared of any one who is. Why?
Because we can carry the disease, be asymptomatic and not know about it all. If we were to get symptomatic for many of us that will mean sniffles. (As so far experiences from the rest of the planet have shown). Some – might get ill, but the vast majority will not.
The ones not vaccinated however will get ill, and in many cases will die. AS experience so far from the rest of hte planet has shown.
So mask up (always when outside, no matter how trivial), wash your hands, and sanitize.
Excuse my ignorance here…but surely your vaccinations protect you from getting sick from Te Virus? No?
Not 100%, no. Te Vaccine merely decreases one's risk of becoming hospitalised and/or dying from a COVID-19 infection – c'mon Rosemary, you know this.
But since April, the risk [of dying from COVID-19] for fully vaccinated adults has never been higher than 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people.
Tbh, I couldn't identify any part of your comment @10.1.2 that could be construed as encouraging the hesitant to get vaccinated. It's almost as if you 'think' getting vaccinated is the wrong choice. "No?"
All "Te Virus" 'cares' about is spreading. The opinions you're continuing to spread here are unhelpful, imho, and in at least one way "Te Virus" is better than you – it’s unaware of the damage it's doing.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we are all desperate for information. Where did the virus come from? Is there a cure? How can we keep staying safe? Will life get back to normal?
In the case of COVID-19, information can be a literal life-saver—when it’s true. Wrong information doesn’t help anyone and can even make things worse. And like a virus, wrong information can spread, causing what’s been called an infodemic.
And now more than ever, we are seeing the spread of two forms of wrong information: misinformation and disinformation. These two words, so often used interchangeably, are merely one letter apart. But behind that one letter hides the critical distinction between these confusable words: intent.
Tbh, I couldn't identify any part of your comment @10.1.2 that could be construed as encouraging the hesitant to get vaccinated. It's almost as if you 'think' getting vaccinated is the wrong choice. "No?"
Err…not sure what to make of that statement DMK…am I supposed to be encouraging people to get vaccinated? No one told me it is my job to convince others. The Pfizer injection surely sells itself?
What I am challenging at 10 is the statement from Ardern that the announced rules are because we need…
"…a way that we can keep vaccinated people safe from those who have not been."
…how about you address that?
How about you address the fact that our public health system has been so systematically and deliberately degraded over the past thirty years that an expected seasonal outbreak of RSV sent it into a spin?
How about you address the wisdom of our PM deliberately placing a target on the backs of those who have chosen not to take the Pfizer injection?
And if you don't know of anyone who has had an 'effect' and not reported it, you need to speak to more people. (Yes, yes, I get the whole 'not talking with anyone outside your bubble' thing…but give it a socially distanced and masked go, eh?)
Question. If the Pfizer injection is safe and effective how is it that those who have received two doses need protecting from those who have not?
it’s a really easy google to get efficacy rates, so I’m confused by the question. I have a straight answer to it below, the vaccine gives partial protection.
also confused by you positing that the boundaries the government is mandating are solely to protect the health system. Not sure what you mean, as it’s clear that for best protection of the population we need a very high vaccination rate.
Tell you what….watch this, give it your entire attention (bearing in mind that the host is a dyed in the wool pro- vaxxer who has very possibly torpedoed his popular channel). Hear me when I tell you that what happened to young Kyle has happened to too many our fellow Kiwis (worse, our young)…even having doctors dismiss the very real symptoms and suggest sufferers need psychiatric treatment. Kiwis have been made ill and Kiwis have died and their experiences have been completely dismissed and minimised by our so called experts.
Err…not sure what to make of that statement DMK…am I supposed to be encouraging people to get vaccinated? No one told me it is my job to convince others. The Pfizer injection surely sells itself?
Err… did I say that it was your job to encourage people to get vaccinated?
I’d prefer that you didn't discourage people from getting vaccinated, which is clearly what you're doing with mis/disinformation along these (nonsensical) lines:
Bearing in mind Sabine, the Pfizer so-called vaccine neither prevents infection or transmission of the virus.
I stand by my point that your dissemination of vaccine mis/disinformation on this site is more than just potentially harmful during a global pandemic. If you must continue to sow mistrust in the "Miracle Injection from the Pfizer Gods", I'd prefer that you did it elsewhere. To be clear, mRNA vaccines are not miracles, although they do save lives.
On one point we agree – NZ's public health system has been under-resourced for many years. I'm just grateful to the many dedicated healthcare professionals who continue to do their best to prop it up – it must be a tiring and often thankless task.
Question. If the Pfizer injection is safe and effective how is it that those who have received two doses need protecting from those who have not?
the vaccine provides partial protection to individuals and society. It lowers the risk of ending up in hospital, or dying, and lowers the risk of passing on to other people. Unvaccinated people are much more likely to transmit to others, including the vaccinated, and to need ICU care and thus putting strain on health system. It’s a numbers game, increasing the odds of better outcomes.
Question. If the Pfizer injection is safe and effective how is it that those who have received two doses need protecting from those who have not?
I see it as a game of chance
– Unvaccinated with covid have a higher viral load than Vaccinated so it spreads more readily, therefore:
– The chance of an unvaccinated person infecting a vaccinated or unvaccinated person is higher than a vaccinated person infecting anyone
Also
– The chance of an unvaccinated person* contracting covid is higher because they have fewer, if any, antibodies to it than a vaccinated person
For the same reasons, i.e. viral load +/- antibodies:
– The unvaccinated are far, far more likely than the vaccinated to get really, really sick and end up in hospital or dead.
The immune-compromised are somewhere in-between. They're playing the games of chance, but the dice is loaded against them – they won't 'win' as often as the vaccinated because they may not produce enough antibodies against Covid – hence the need for a third dose for some to even the chances up a bit.
*the unvaccinated may of course been vaccinated the hard way – by contracting Covid – they’ll lose that protection (antibodies) over time, just like the vaccinated – but maybe they’ll prefer the easier way to get antibodies when that happens – a shot in the arm.
The unvaccinated are far, far more likely than the vaccinated to get really, really sick and end up in hospital or dead.
This may well be true…until the Double Shot need the latest booster. I'd need to see research. Having said that…it is still the case that that for most people with few or no co morbidities Te Virus will not put them in hospital.
the unvaccinated may of course been vaccinated the hard way – by contracting Covid – they’ll lose that protection (antibodies) over time, just like the vaccinated
Two parts to that…a) we generally do not refer to people who have naturally acquired immunity as having been vaccinated. This is one of those strange terminology shifts we have seen over the past 18months. b) not 'just like the vaccinated' at all . https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01442-9
Your first link is a bit of an outlier when searching for viral load – if it's backed up, it still says vaccination prevents spread
The second link says what we've known for some time. That Delta changes the game. Even then, it recommends vaccination and a booster – which is where the world is at.
Vaccination is still better than no vaccination for saving lives and reducing the spread. My major concern (aside from the risk to Immune compromised people) is that if we allow Covid to continue to spread we will almost certainly get more mutation – and one of these will be completely impervious to vaccines and current treatments.
a) yes, I agree with you , just like 'freedoms' is the new word for 'more activities in public spaces'
b) last para in your link
"Ellebedy’s team has observed early signs that Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine should trigger the production of the same cells. But the persistence of antibody production, whether elicited by vaccination or by infection, does not ensure long-lasting immunity to COVID-19."
Is there a correlation between being right wing and comprehension problems?
As eldest son of a hardline Nat supporter in the '50s, who was himself eldest son of a hardline Nat supporter in the '30s, I can assure you that the general answer is yes.
Seemed clear to me.
Me too. In fact I was pleasantly surprised by how incisive and comprehensive her scheme for our path ahead seems to be. Think we can credit these guys:
By 90% do the mean 90% of sall Maori, 90% of all Pacific Islanders, 90% of all Asians, (0% of all Indians, 90% of all males, 90% of all females in every DHB?
And you can give us the difference in numbers between sparodic imported cases and orange increasing cases?
And what all these businesses are using to scan vaccine cert's
The Auckland region will transition into a new Covid-19 framework as soon as the region’s three district health boards hit 90 per cent of their eligible populations being fully vaccinated.
They even repeat it for those who had problems with the first statement…
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Friday Auckland would move to the “red” setting as soon as each DHB in the city vaccinated 90 per cent of its eligible population.
So these are the DHBs..
And just to clarify..
On the Government’s measure, 86 per cent of the eligible population have had a first dose, and 68 per cent have had a second dose.
There are considerable differences between DHBs however. Auckland’s are likely to reach 90 per cent before other areas, as they are already close to 90 per cent of first dose.
Unambiguously bad news for those expecting to open up right now. Just Auckland Metro being at 86% means they are 4% (+ 6-8 weeks) away from 90% double vaccinated target. If we had a political opposition right now they would be highlighting that shrinking the 6-8 weeks undermines the effectiveness of the vaccination effort being undertaken, and this is effectively what the government is asking to happen.
It's 90% of all eligible people within all DHBs. That will lift vaccination rates across all sectors. But we won't be constrained if some sectors are reluctant or for some reason unable to be as fully vaccinated as others. The vaccination programme will not stop there and everyone will still be encouraged to become vaccinated.
Yeah, I wondered about the viability of the 90% target. She deliberately gave the govt wiggle-room though – think she said they will review it end of next month. Looks like they will have to target towns/groups of slackers (Murupara for instance) so expect a shift to selective rather than broad containment.
If the spread of Covid-19 possibly threatens the healthcare system, the “red light” setting will be used. This would limit private gatherings and restrict some inter-regional travel. Schools and retail stores would remain open but may have capacity limits, and hospitality businesses could open but for table-service only and with the requirement that customers are vaccinated.
One of the things that this will do is to push some of the laggard DHBs outside of Auckland to get to 90% double dose vaccination rates.
The rest of the country will also be able to move to a new traffic-light system that replaces the alert level system when 90 per cent of each DHB’s eligible population is double-dosed.
If you look at the vaccination data by DHB you can see the ones who won't get changes for a while..
I just want to know when I can get out of Auckland. Still getting vague "it depends" crap from the Govt.
Looks like our whanau Christmas gathering up North won't happen this year because Northland DHB is underfunded, understaffed, and facing an uphill battle.
I know of several people who have had treatments in main centers (stitching, small ops etc.) and the doctor had to interrupt whilst working (! how safe is that?) because of being called to another patient. This is truly 3rd world stuff.
Is this not how the policy is implemented by DHB's?
its share of the projected New Zealand population, weighted according to the national average cost of the health and disability support services used by different demographic groups
an additional policy-based weighting for unmet need that recognises the different challenges DHBs face in reducing disparities and access to health services between population groups
a rural adjustment and an adjustment for eligible overseas visitors and refugees, each of which redistribute a set amount of funding between DHBs to recognise unavoidable differences in the cost of providing certain health and disability support services to these population groups.
DHBs are looking better than I expected on that graph. Uniformity of catch-up seems to be happening. I suspect the problems lie in smaller pockets and may need micro-analysis for targeting.
We won't be changing to the traffic light system across the motu until all DHBs reach 90% of all eligible people within the DHB vaccinated. Auckland will however move to red when they reach that milestone.
I live in Wellington. Capital and Coast look like getting to the 90% level before most of the other DHBs. Suppose we get up to 90+% by, say, 1 December. Will we go to code Orange?
Suppose we, and every other DHB except Taranaki get to 90+5 by, say, 1 March 2022. Will everyone except Taranaki be moved to Orange or will nobody move to that status?
Suppose Taranaki never gets to 90+% Will the entire country, with the possible exception of Auckland, never ever get to the traffic light system?
Your comment, which I copied, appears to say that the last statement is true. Is it?
AB, who has commented at 11.3 seems to think it is totally clear. Perhaps he (she?) would care to answer as well.
Broad outline seemed pretty simple to me. I have always suspected that most of the people who claim this stuff is 'confusing' can't be arsed trying to understand it, don't watch the press conferences because they are 'propaganda', and are simply inherently anti-Labour. If John Key was slurring and shrugging his way through the same stuff and assuring us he was comfortable with it all, they'd say he was masterful and isn’t it great to have someone with ‘business experience’ as PM.
Oh, that's right they aren't prisoners of war. They are 'unlawful combatantts'. (it's not kidnapping if we do it).
And the war isn't over, after being beaten on the ground President Biden says the U.S. will continue with, 'Over the Horizon" attacks. (it's not terrorism, if we do it).
The Legal Status of the Guantanamo Bay Detainees – Ten Years Later
…..It will be argued that Guantanamo is not a legal ‘black hole’ and therefore the detainees should be accorded prisoner of war status according to the Third Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, or alternatively, they should be treated as civilians protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention on Civilian Persons in Time of War. It will be shown that there is no intermediate status under international law and that particularly, international humanitarian law does not recognise the term ‘unlawful combatant’.
"So we're now told if we dont take a government mandated medicine of which there is no other choice available we will be excluded from society and be the targets for vitriol and hatred. Sounds like Jacinda just introduced apartheid NZ style"
That's something repeatable should see some of the stuff directed at Maori which I wont repeat.
In France if you don't want to vaxx they offer you the option of getting (and paying for) a negative covid test in the previous 72 hours if you want to get into a venue, That sounds like a better system to me
Given that military conscription is so many rungs further up the authoritarian ladder than the vaccine rules that seems like a rather stupid thing to say. That before getting to the ridiculous comparison with what the Nazis were up to.
Try under youtube seeking ralfy he does the hard work tasting to give his opinions, ( and his background is working class from Glasgow so he has credibility 😇) and he supports non-chill filter and no added colours and no accountants watered down 40abv
JERUSALEM, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) — Five more cases of the new COVID-19 Delta variant "AY4.2" were reported by Israel's Ministry of Health on Thursday.
The first case of the variant in Israel was detected on Tuesday in an 11-year-old boy who returned from Moldova and was tested positive at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv.
Upon the detection of the variant in the boy, the ministry's genetic sequencing laboratory reviewed all sequences that were classified as the Delta variant so far, given the AY4.2 variant had been classified all over the world as the Delta variant and only recently was classified as a separate variant.
UK reported its biggest one-day Covid case increase in 3 months just as the new delta variant AY.4 with the S:Y145H mutation in the spike reaches 8% of UK sequenced cases," Dr. Gottlieb wrote. "We need urgent research to figure out if this delta plus is more transmissible, has partial immune evasion?"
.Unprecedented swings from National & Non-Voting to Labour at the 2020 General Election: Highlighted by comparing major swings at the 1999, 2008 & 2020 New Zealand General Elections (I've calculated the 𝑹𝒂𝒘 𝑽𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 from NZES & Vote Compass Flow-of-the-Vote stats):
This doesn't of course take into account reciprocal swings … there are always counter-swings going on in the opposite direction … so a more complex understanding would involve a focus on the overall 𝒏𝒆𝒕 vote gains or losses between the various parties.
The population health results of Ardern's announcements today, tracked to Christmas 2021, are just such an axial point for voters. Still quite a way to 2023, but it's a pivot for whole segments of voters.
The population health results of Ardern's announcements today, tracked to Christmas 2021, are just such an axial point for voters. Still quite a way to 2023, but it's a pivot for whole segments of voters.
I predict that half of Auckland will vote for anyone who promises NOT to lock them up in their houses for months on end. Kindness is over. Let us out Jacinda. 10 weeks+++ is too much.
And there is still no clear path out other than "just get 99.99% of everyone vaccinated, and the neighbour's dog as well, then I will think about it"
Pathetic. Petty. Authoritarian. Careless of people's need to get on with life.
" Alec Baldwin fired prop gun accidentally killing a woman on set of movie Rust – sheriff
Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a movie set in an accident that killed a photography chief and injured a director, authorities in New Mexico have said.
A statement from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office said Baldwin, who is acting in and producing the film Rust, had fired the prop gun in an incident on Thursday.
The statement said deputies were dispatched to the set around 2pm in Bonanza Creek Ranch when a 911 caller reported a shooting…………"
And systems. Lots of systems, developed in response to how rare incidents happened and could have been prevented.
Read an article by a movie armourer ages ago, talking about how asome of these incidents can happen, and in particular deconstructung the Brandon Lee incident and the standard industry practises that meant it shouldn't happen again. According to the article, part of the problem with that scene was that the production was being rushed and they'd deviated from the plan.
Because of the rush they hadn't checked that the barrel was unobstructed. So especially since then the angles were usually worked out that if someone was supposed to be filmed with a firearm pointed at them, it was actually pointed away from them but that wasn't apparent in the movie.
But maybe this lot found a new way to screw it up fatally with a single point of failure.
Film is independent apparently. So presumably not the biggest budget. Maybe they were just saving money on the stupidest place to try to save money. Safety of the actors and crew, and they prop weapon protocols got a bit lax.
Could probably add time constraints as well with equipment hire etc, like you mentioned with Lee.
Yeah. It'll probably all come out in the wash, but usually the director and the armourer or stunt coordinator would bear the bulk of responsibility unless the person holding the weapon made the primary screw up (e.g. Hexum).
The other thing ISTR from that article was that he'd brief everyone, including extras, with a demonstration of the power of a blank at close range, e.g. with a plank or box or watermelon. Good way to stop people treating it like a toy.
Damned if I can find the original article, though. Lots of the details check out in the google search, but I haven't found the article I'm thinking of – it had a really god flow in the writing and making its case, too.
"Damned if I can find the original article, though. Lots of the details check out in the google search, but I haven't found the article I'm thinking of"
"In the same way that a punch striking an actor can be filmed without any contact the firing of a gun at an actor can be accomplished by cheating the angle of the camera.:"
Just heard an interview with an American correspondent. Apparently he wasn't in a great space at the cop station. Would screw you up a bit for life I would imagine.
She defo' isn't a real gun and that def' aint a a live round.
Problem with even real pistols like that is aim is crap, So even if Baldwin wasn't pointing it at her, If it was shattered faulty metal it could have gone out at any angle aand hit the people.
Unlikely I reckon, especially without Baldwin being reported hospitalised with a hand injury (or face injury, if rifle breech go boom when he's looking down the sights).
The film is set in 1880, so revolvers and lever actions are the ones hollywood like for that period. Mostly cartridges, but cap&ball were still around at that time.
So maybe a chainfire of the cap&ball revolving cylinder, but then you have to ask why the unused cylinders had dense obstructions and full charges. Or a Brandon Lee repeat. Or some small rocks went up the barrel while acting and became real projectiles with a blank charge behind them, and folks off the line of aim were hit by the dispersion pattern.
Lots of possibilities for fuckup or unforeseen hazard. We'll find out soon enough.
South Korea and Australia should enhance their cooperation to secure submarine cables, which carry more than 95 percent of global data traffic. As tensions in the Indo-Pacific intensify, these vital connections face risks from cyber ...
The Parliament Bill Committee has reported back on the Parliament Bill. As usual, they recommend no substantive changes, all decisions having been made in advance and in secret before the bill was introduced - but there are some minor tweaks around oversight of the new parliamentary security powers, which will ...
When the F-47 enters service, at a date to be disclosed, it will be a new factor in US air warfare. A decision to proceed with development, deferred since July, was unexpectedly announced on 21 ...
All my best memoriesCome back clearly to meSome can even make me cry.Just like beforeIt's yesterday once more.Songwriters: Richard Lynn Carpenter / John BettisYesterday, Winston Peters gave a State of the Nation speech in which he declared War on the Woke, described peaceful protesters as fascists, said he’d take our ...
Regardless of our opinions about the politicians involved, I believe that every rational person should welcome the reestablishment of contacts between the USA and the Russian Federation. While this is only the beginning and there are no guarantees of success, it does create the opportunity to address issues ...
Once upon a time, the United States saw the contest between democracy and authoritarianism as a singularly defining issue. It was this outlook, forged in the crucible of World War II, that created such strong ...
A pre-Covid protest about medical staffing shortages outside the Beehive. Since then the situation has only worsened, with 30% of doctors trained here now migrating within a decade. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories shortest: The news this morning is dominated by the crises cascading through our health system after ...
Bargaining between the PSA and Oranga Tamariki over the collective agreement is intensifying – with more strike action likely, while the Employment Relations Authority has ordered facilitation. More than 850 laboratory staff are walking off their jobs in a week of rolling strike action. Union coverage CTU: Confidence in ...
Foreign Minister Penny Wong in 2024 said that ‘we’re in a state of permanent contest in the Pacific—that’s the reality.’ China’s arrogance hurts it in the South Pacific. Mark that as a strong Australian card ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...
In the past week, Israel has reverted to slaughtering civilians, starving children and welshing on the terms of the peace deal negotiated earlier this year. The IDF’s current offensive seems to be intended to render Gaza unlivable, preparatory (perhaps) to re-occupation by Israeli settlers. The short term demands for the ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 16, 2025 thru Sat, March 22, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. We are still interested ...
In recent months, I have garnered copious amusement playing Martin, chess.com’s infamously terrible Chess AI. Alas, it is not how it once was, when he would cheerfully ignore freely offered material. Martin has grown better since I first stumbled upon him. I still remain frustrated at his capture-happy determination to ...
Every time that I see ya,A lightning bolt fills the room,The underbelly of Paris,She sings her favourite tune,She'll drink you under the table,She'll show you a trick or two,But every time that I left her,I missed the things she would doSongwriters: Kelly JonesThis morning, I posted - Are you excited ...
Long stories shortest this week in our political economy:Standard & Poor’s judged the Government’s council finance reforms a failure. Professional investors showed the Government they want it to borrow more, not less. GDP bounced out of recession by more than forecast in the December quarter, but data for the ...
Each day at 4:30 my brother calls in at the rest home to see Dad. My visits can be months apart. Five minutes after you've left, he’ll have forgotten you were there, but every time, his face lights up and it’s a warm happy visit.Tim takes care of almost everything ...
On the 19th of March, ACT announced they would be running candidates in this year’s local government elections. Accompanying that call for “common-sense kiwis” was an anti-woke essay typifying the views they expect their candidates to hold. I have included that part of their mailer, Free Press, in its entirety. ...
Even when the darkest clouds are in the skyYou mustn't sigh and you mustn't crySpread a little happiness as you go byPlease tryWhat's the use of worrying and feeling blue?When days are long keep on smiling throughSpread a little happiness 'til dreams come trueSongwriters: Vivian Ellis / Clifford Grey / ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...
ACT up the game on division politicsEmmerson’s take on David Seymour’s claim Jesus would have supported ACTACT’s announcement it is moving into local politics is a logical next step for a party that is waging its battle on picking up the aggrieved.It’s a numbers game, and as long as the ...
1. What will be the slogan of the next butter ad campaign?a. You’re worth itb.Once it hits $20, we can do something about the riversc. I can’t believe it’s the price of butter d. None of the above Read more ...
It is said that economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. That may be an exaggeration but an even better response is to point out economists do know the difference. They did not at first. Classical economics thought that the price of something reflected the objective ...
Political fighting in Taiwan is delaying some of an increase in defence spending and creating an appearance of lack of national resolve that can only damage the island’s relationship with the Trump administration. The main ...
The unclassified version of the 2024 Independent Intelligence Review (IIR) was released today. It’s a welcome and worthy sequel to its 2017 predecessor, with an ambitious set of recommendations for enhancements to Australia’s national intelligence ...
Yesterday outgoing Ombudsman Peter Boshier published a report, Reflections on the Official Information Act, on his way out the door. The report repeated his favoured mantra that the Act was "fundamentally sound", all problems were issues of culture, and that no legislative change was needed (and especially no changes to ...
The United States government is considering replacing USAID with a new agency, the US Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (USIHA), according to documents published by POLITICO. Under the proposed design, the agency will fail its ...
Hi,Journalism was never the original plan. Back in the 90s, there was no career advisor in Bethlehem, New Zealand — just a computer that would ask you 50 questions before spitting out career options. Yes, I am in this photo. No, I was not good at basketball.The top three careers ...
Mōrena. Long stories shortest: Professional investors who are paid a lot of money to be careful about lending to the New Zealand Government think it is wonderful place to put their money. Yet the Government itself is so afraid of borrowing more that it is happy to kill its own ...
As space becomes more contested, Australia should play a key role with its partners in the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative to safeguard the space domain. Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States signed the ...
Ooh you're a cool catComing on strong with all the chit chatOoh you're alrightHanging out and stealing all the limelightOoh messing with the beat of my heart yeah!Songwriters: Freddie Mercury / John Deacon.It would be a tad ironic; I can see it now. “Yeah, I didn’t unsubscribe when he said ...
The PSA are calling the Prime Minister a hypocrite for committing to increase defence spending while hundreds of more civilian New Zealand Defence Force jobs are set to be cut as part of a major restructure. The number of companies being investigated for people trafficking in New Zealand has skyrocketed ...
Another Friday, hope everyone’s enjoyed their week as we head toward the autumn equinox. Here’s another roundup of stories that caught our eye on the subject of cities and what makes them even better. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Connor took a look at how Auckland ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking with special guest author Michael Wolff, who has just published his fourth book about Donald Trump: ‘All or Nothing’.Here’s Peter’s writeup of the interview.The Kākā by Bernard Hickey Hoon: Trumpism ...
Wolff, who describes Trump as truly a ‘one of a kind’, at a book launch in Spain. Photo: GettyImagesIt may be a bumpy ride for the world but the era of Donald J. Trump will die with him if we can wait him out says the author of four best-sellers ...
Australia needs to radically reorganise its reserves system to create a latent military force that is much larger, better trained and equipped and deployable within days—not decades. Our current reserve system is not fit for ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...
I have argued before that one ought to be careful in retrospectively allocating texts into genres. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) only looks like science-fiction because a science-fiction genre subsequently developed. Without H.G. Wells, would Frankenstein be considered science-fiction? No, it probably wouldn’t. Viewed in the context of its time, Frankenstein ...
Elbridge Colby’s senate confirmation hearing in early March holds more important implications for US partners than most observers in Canberra, Wellington or Suva realise. As President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defence for ...
China’s defence budget is rising heftily yet again. The 2025 rise will be 7.2 percent, the same as in 2024, the government said on 5 March. But the allocation, officially US$245 billion, is just the ...
Concern is growing about wide-ranging local repercussions of the new Setting of Speed Limits rule, rewritten in 2024 by former transport minister Simeon Brown. In particular, there’s growing fears about what this means for children in particular. A key paradox of the new rule is that NZTA-controlled roads have the ...
Speilmeister:Christopher Luxon’s prime-ministerial pitches notwithstanding, are institutions with billions of dollars at their disposal really going to invest them in a country so obviously in a deep funk?HAVING WOOED THE WORLD’s investors, what, if anything, has New Zealand won? Did Christopher Luxon’s guests board their private jets fizzing with enthusiasm for ...
Christchurch City Council is one of 18 councils and three council-controlled organisations (CCOs) downgraded by ratings agency S&P. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories shortest:Standard & Poor’s has cut the credit ratings of 18 councils, blaming the new Government’s abrupt reversal of 3 Waters, cuts to capital ...
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today showed that the economy grew by 0.7% ending the very deep recession seen over the past year, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “Even though GDP grew in the three months to December, our economy is still 1.1% smaller than it ...
What is going on with the price of butter?, RNZ, 19 march 2025: If you have bought butter recently you might have noticed something - it is a lot more expensive. Stats NZ said last week that the price of butter was up 60 percent in February compared to ...
I agree with Will Leben, who wrote in The Strategist about his mistakes, that an important element of being a commentator is being accountable and taking responsibility for things you got wrong. In that spirit, ...
You’d beDrunk by noon, no one would knowJust like the pandemicWithout the sourdoughIf I were there, I’d find a wayTo get treated for hysteriaEvery dayLyrics Riki Lindhome.A varied selection today in Nick’s Kōrero:Thou shalt have no other gods - with Christopher Luxon.Doctors should be seen and not heard - with ...
Two recent foreign challenges suggest that Australia needs urgently to increase its level of defence self-reliance and to ensure that the increased funding that this would require is available. First, the circumnavigation of our continent ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, The ...
According to RNZ’s embedded reporter, the importance of Winston Peters’ talks in Washington this week “cannot be overstated.” Right. “Exceptionally important.” said the maestro himself. This epic importance doesn’t seem to have culminated in anything more than us expressing our “concern” to the Americans about a series of issues that ...
Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of "Climate Fresk" and at a guess, this will also be the case for many of you. I stumbled upon it in the self-service training catalog for employees at the company I work at in Germany where it was announced ...
Japan and Australia talk of ‘collective deterrence,’ but they don’t seem to have specific objectives. The relationship needs a clearer direction. The two countries should identify how they complement each other. Each country has two ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the OPC’s decision to issue a code of practice for biometric processing. Our view is that the draft code currently being consulted on is stronger and will be more effective than the exposure code released in early 2024. We are pleased that some of the revisions ...
Australia’s export-oriented industries, particularly agriculture, need to diversify their markets, with a focus on Southeast Asia. This could strengthen economic security and resilience while deepening regional relationships. The Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on ...
Minister Shane Jones is introducing fastrack ‘reforms’ to the our fishing industry that will ensure the big players squeeze out the small fishers and entrench an already bankrupt quota system.Our fisheries are under severe stress: the recent decision by theHigh Court ruling that the ...
In what has become regular news, the quarterly ETS auction has failed, with nobody even bothering to bid. The immediate reason is that the carbon price has fallen to around $60, below the auction minimum of $68. And the cause of that is a government which has basically given up ...
US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats have dominated headlines in India in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Trump announced that his reciprocal tariffs—matching other countries’ tariffs on American goods—will go into effect on 2 April, ...
Hi,Back in June of 2021, James Gardner-Hopkins — a former partner at law firm Russell McVeagh — was found guilty of misconduct over sexually inappropriate behaviour with interns.The events all related to law students working as summer interns at Russell McVeagh:As well as intimate touching with a student at his ...
Climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has slammed National for being ‘out of touch’ by sticking to our climate commitments. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories shortest:ACT’s renowned climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has accused National of being 'out of touch' with farmers by sticking with New Zealand’s Paris accord pledges ...
Now I've heard there was a secret chordThat David played, and it pleased the LordBut you don't really care for music, do you?It goes like this, the fourth, the fifthThe minor falls, the major liftsThe baffled king composing HallelujahSongwriter: Leonard CohenI always thought the lyrics of that great song by ...
People are getting carried away with the virtues of small warship crews. We need to remember the great vice of having few people to run a ship: they’ll quickly tire. Yes, the navy is struggling ...
Mōrena. Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, ...
US President Donald Trump’s hostile regime has finally forced Europe to wake up. With US officials calling into question the transatlantic alliance, Germany’s incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, recently persuaded lawmakers to revise the country’s debt ...
We need to establish clearer political boundaries around national security to avoid politicising ongoing security issues and to better manage secondary effects. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealed on 10 March that the Dural caravan ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have reiterated their call for Government to protect workers by banning engineered stone in a submission on MBIE’s silica dust consultation. “If Brooke van Velden is genuine when she calls for an evidence-based approach to this issue, then she must support a full ban on ...
The Labour Inspectorate could soon be knocking on the door of hundreds of businesses nation-wide, as it launches a major crackdown on those not abiding by the law. NorthTec staff are on edge as Northland’s leading polytechnic proposes to stop 11 programmes across primary industries, forestry, and construction. Union coverage ...
It’s one thing for military personnel to hone skills with first-person view (FPV) drones in racing competitions. It’s quite another for them to transition to the complexities of the battlefield. Drone racing has become a ...
Seymour says there will be no other exemptions granted to schools wanting to opt out of the Compass contract. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories shortest:David Seymour has denied a request from a Christchurch school and any other schools to be exempted from the Compass school lunch programme, saying the contract ...
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, and British Prime Minister John Major signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler(Image credit: Antonio Huerta) Growing up in suburban Ohio, I was used to seeing farmland and woods disappear to make room for new subdivisions, strip malls, and big box stores. I didn’t usually welcome the changes, but I assumed others ...
Myanmar was a key global site for criminal activity well before the 2021 military coup. Today, illicit industry, especially heroin and methamphetamine production, still defines much of the economy. Nowhere, not even the leafiest districts ...
What've I gotta do to make you love me?What've I gotta do to make you care?What do I do when lightning strikes me?And I wake up and find that you're not thereWhat've I gotta do to make you want me?Mmm hmm, what've I gotta do to be heard?What do I ...
Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealand’s Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumātua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...
The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...
The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
Shane Jones’ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies with little concern for people and planet. ...
Labour does not support the private ownership of core infrastructure like schools, hospitals and prisons, which will only see worse outcomes for Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is disappointed the Government voted down Hūhana Lyndon’s member’s Bill, which would have prevented further alienation of Māori land through the Public Works Act. ...
The Labour Party will support Chloe Swarbrick’s member’s bill which would allow sanctions against Israel for its illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories. ...
The Government’s new procurement rules are a blatant attack on workers and the environment, showing once again that National’s priorities are completely out of touch with everyday Kiwis. ...
With Labour and Te Pāti Māori’s official support, Opposition parties are officially aligned to progress Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in Palestine. ...
Te Pāti Māori extends our deepest aroha to the 500 plus Whānau Ora workers who have been advised today that the govt will be dismantling their contracts. For twenty years , Whānau Ora has been helping families, delivering life-changing support through a kaupapa Māori approach. It has built trust where ...
Labour welcomes Simeon Brown’s move to reinstate a board at Health New Zealand, bringing the destructive and secretive tenure of commissioner Lester Levy to an end. ...
This morning’s announcement by the Health Minister regarding a major overhaul of the public health sector levels yet another blow to the country’s essential services. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill that will ensure employment decisions in the public service are based on merit and not on forced woke ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ targets. “This Bill would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector. ...
Police have referred 20 offenders to Destiny Church-affiliated programmes Man Up and Legacy as ‘wellness providers’ in the last year, raising concerns that those seeking help are being recruited into a harmful organisation. ...
Te Pāti Māori welcomes the resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal. His appointment in October 2024 was a disgrace- another example of this government undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi by appointing a former ACT leader who has spent his career attacking Māori rights. “Regardless of the reason for ...
“Finally our story can be heard, and the Crown now acknowledges the injustices that were inflicted on Ngāti Hāua,” says Chair of Ngāti Hāua Iwi Trust, Graham ‘Tinker’ Bell. “Those injustices include being pushed out of Heretaunga (Hutt ...
The challenge now is to get the best possible outcome from the split Act model. We will be working closely with the Government over the course of this year to that end. We simply must have a more nuanced outcome from this process than from the Fast-track ...
The Free Speech Union has made two submissions advocating for more speech, not less, on the Media Reform Proposals and the Regulatory Systems (Occupational Regulation) Amendment Bill, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union. “Our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Windholz, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University Last week, the Novak Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) announced it was suing the sport’s governing bodies – the men’s (ATP) and women’s (WTA) tours, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the ...
The Children's Minister says Oranga Tamariki's breaching of confidential information of children and families could not be allowed to continue under this government's watch. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Alexander Donald, Professor of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Irene Miller/Shutterstock Silicosis is an incurable but entirely preventable lung disease. It has only one cause: breathing in too much silica dust. This is a risk in several industries, including tunnelling, stone masonry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Southern Cross, a French-hosted regional military exercise, is moving to Wallis and Futuna Islands this year. The exercise, which includes participating regional armed and law enforcement forces from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga every two years, is ...
“The Government has rightly decided to scrap Councils’ focus on social and cultural ‘wellbeings’ and get them back to getting the basics right first, and it’s time Dunedin Council followed suit.” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina McCabe, PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Canterbury Shutterstock/S Watson When we think about flood management, higher stop banks, stronger levees and concrete barriers usually come to mind. But what if the best solution – for people and nature ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – Like a relentless ocean, wave after wave of pro-Palestinian pro-human rights protesters disrupted New Zealand deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ state of the nation speech at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday. A clarion call to Trumpism and Australia’s One Nation ...
Pacific Media Watch Paris-based global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has recalled that 20 journalists were killed during the six-year Philippines presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, a regime marked by fierce repression of the press. Former president Duterte was arrested earlier this week as part of an International Criminal ...
"The councillors were given tickets because they are councillors, at the very same time they're considering the future of the stadium. It's beyond belief that anyone is defending this." ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Saige England in Christchurch Like a relentless ocean, wave after wave of pro-Palestinian pro-human rights protesters disrupted New Zealand deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ state of the nation speech at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday. A clarion call to Trumpism and Australia’s One Nation Party, the speech ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Morgan poll, conducted March 10–16 from a sample of 2,097, gave Labor a 54.5–45.5 lead by headline respondent preferences, a ...
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The proposal to remove the living wage requirement from public sector procurement rules turns back the clock on a progressive step towards valuing essential workers, argues Lyndy McIntyre.On April 1, workers on the minimum wage will get their annual pay rise, with their hourly rate moving from $23.15 to ...
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Rachel went to court, Rachel pronounced the verdict: https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/126753711/timaru-woman-trespassed-by-supermarkets-for-refusing-to-wear-mask-has-high-court-case-thrown-out
But would "left-thinking people" agree?? Why is the judiciary trying to get away with a policy of discriminating against folks who are sufficiently competent that they can make a legal claim in a single paragraph?
We know that lawyers are trained to take forever to get to any point they are pretending to make. Obfuscation has been endemic in legal process since empire begain to use it as strategy for ruling the masses. Incomprehensible legal documents of inordinate length remain a useful tool of the patriarchy for oppressing people.
Yeah, specifying a nexus is essential in legal process, damn right! One up for the judge on that point! It was disappointing to see no reference to God telling Rachel not to wear the mask, though.
Traditionalists will be dismayed at this. It leaves open the possibility that she's a postmodern religionist: "No, God didn't tell me that. I listened, but he didn't speak. I deduced that he wanted me to issue my own interpretation of his will. So I did!"
Parliament's Speaker puts rugby on record:
Maori Party co-leader:
Huh? Well, maybe this will clarify:
Two possible pathways to the future: wheel in an ecologist to explain the merit of biodiversity, or wheel in an All Black to explain the merit of keeping an eye on the ball…
Thats a fail Dennis. You've somehow actually managed to write that even less clearly than the herald.
Pem Bird on RNZ was wanting the French vaccine to be made available. Well because its a dead inactive covid cell type it takes longer to develop .Which will not be available till at least April next year. By then Covid Delta will have done its damage . This is irresponsible leadership.
This will be a disaster for Maori who are not vaccinated.
This would be a good headline grabber for Dr Reti who could go to areas where Maori have low vaccination Rates.
Or the Labour Maori caucus could turn up and help. Something urgent needs to happen.
Tricledrown, They did have a very quick meeting in the North at short notice to form a plan of action. Hipkins had written to Reti who agreed to help, but then complained at the short notice "because he was out vaccinating" lol That was a broadside at Kelvin. It is happening. Even with the disagreements and ruffled feathers.
Thanks I think Reti should be Nationals leader he comes across as a very reasonable likeable leader.
The country needs a functioning opposition now.Collins continual Blundering and Panic policy releases is not doing anything for the country.
Reti has been vaccinating up north for a while now.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018815601/national-s-dr-shane-reti-helping-vaccinate-in-northland
I think the whole thing is explained by the line in your first quote.
""My old propping mate Pem Bird who I played quite a bit of rugby against in the King Country some time ago"
That explains both Mr Bird's rather eccentric views and Trevor's appalling display as Speaker. Play enough Rugby, particularly in the front row and you can expect early onset dementia and probable CTE. Perhaps they should both retire and join the claim of other, although much better, players in seeking compensation?
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/08/steve-thompson-former-rugby-union-players-dementia-landmark-legal-case
About a minute in on Morning Report, an interview with Bird.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018817453
Interesting. Murupara currently at 32%. The govt ought to despatch an ambassador to that independent republic toute suite!
Ole Birdie says "We have a natural distrust of government." Well, hard to argue, eh? Been thataway myself since my teenage rebel years. But there's a difference between habitual bias and what folks oughta do when a pandemic hits.
The ambassador ought to stand in the mainstreet & yell "It's like a tsunami!" Folks might notice enough to stop & think.
Oh, just listened to more & Kiri Allan reckons its up to 42% so maybe the message is slowly getting traction.
Ex-Oz top dude Kevin Rudd discusses geopolitics without saying anything substantial: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/kevin-rudd-on-china-a-thousand-pound-gorilla-in-the-front-living-room
You can see why he hit the top of the Labour Party so fast: bland is good! A classic demonstration of Labour intellectual heft is on display here. Spans the entire spectrum from banal to vapid with a pit-stop at vacuous in the middle.
Well, thank God for that!! There was always a danger she might actually listen.
Maybe but krudds joined with Turnbull in calling out Murdoch's influence.
He's also called out scumo on his faiths influence on the role as PM.
A polarising character who IMO is doing his best in their owned media landscape to highlight issues.
So its been mandated that all Corrections staff that have contact with prisoners need to have their first jab by the end of the month and 2nd by December
Even though I'm fully jabbed up I don't agree with this for a couple of reasons.
1. We're getting jabbed up to protect prisoners but prisoners aren't getting forced to be jabbed even though some are getting released in the middle of the pandemic
2. Continuing on from 1, we get the jab to protect prisoners but visitors don't have to be jabbed. If we have to so prisoners are protected why not their visitors
3. If you don't get the jab you probably won't have a job and then if you don't find another job you go on the benefit so from paying taxes and not having the jab you…aren't paying taxes and still don't have the jab
4. No jab no job so why not no jab no benefit given the amount of hold outs in lower socio economic groups
5. I don't like this mandatory vaccine business, I really don't like "don't question the science", slippery slope and all that
Prisons were an issue in the US, and funnily enough one of the largest unvaxxed working group of people in the US are cops.
The leading cause of US police deaths this year.
https://www.odmp.org/search/year?year=2021
So what's your point PR? I'm sure if you'd been through our penal system you wouldn't be lining up for a jab. I doubt if you would be lining up for a job either ,because you wouldn't get one.
Strikes me your no.5 says it all. You really don't trust science. All the evidence shows it does a better job than a pie in the sky concept based solely on 'faith'.
My point is why is it mandatory for some (Corrections Officers) but not others (visitors)
Science yes, people no.
Pfizer in Nigeria, WHO beholden to China, Thalidomide, The Unfortunate Experiment, Dr John Moneys gender experiments
No jab no hospital treatment plenty of jobs out their PR better paid than a taxpayer funded low paid high stress job.
Dairy farmers are screaming out for workers you could transfer your skills easily enough.
Doesn't take much for the old sexism to rear its ugly head on here does it
Sure I'll just tell my wife to forget her career and uproot her to a life on a farm eh because that's what the little lady's there for isn't it, just support the man
From what I can see your insistence on your wife accompanying you to a new job location is more sexist than anything Tickledrown wrote.
You should probably read it again then
Despite following your instruction it's still not obvious. Could you please just quote the sexist part out to me so I can understand where I'm missing it. Thanks in advance.
The sexist part:
‘Dairy farmers are screaming out for workers you could transfer your skills easily enough.’
I pointed out how sexist it was to assume my wife should just give up her job to accompany me.
If you can’t work it out from there then thats on you.
There was no mention of your wife or her career prior to your allegation of sexism. If you had said "but what about my wife and her career if I relocate to pursue a new career?" and Trickledrown replied something like "tell her to give it up and support you like a good wife should" then you may have a point.
But it seems the conversation on this screen doesn't match the one in your head so perhaps you owe Trickledrown an apology for alleging sexism.
See heres the thing, Tricledrown suggested that I should find another job, a job in which moving would come with it.
Why?
I'm good at my job, I live close by and it pays for my mortgage, retirement and holidays plus its pretty secure work.
Having this job also allows my wife to have more uncertainty in her job so I find it pretty damn disrespectful for someone to just say start an entirely new career in a field in which I have zero interest in without even bothering to consider what it might take to start that new career like its no big deal.
You think of that at all?
Irrespective of whether or not I have a wife hes telling to simply upsticks and move and start a new career
One of the things on this site I've noticed is that if someone on the right suggests someone unemployed move for better job prospects then that gets viewed pretty damn negatively.
So no I don't 'perhaps' owe an apology to anyone.
If we're to end sexism on this site then it needs to be called out when it happens, not let it slide just because you happen to disagree with the politics of the person calling it out.
Thanks for the reply. It's clear there was no sexism in what Trickledrown suggested, at most it was simply a rude and obnoxious suggestion to move elsewhere. Best of luck to you and your wife and thanks for working in your chosen field which must have its difficulties. Please do your best to help rehabilitate your "clients" if at all possible.
yes that's right, if prisoners won't get the jab by the end of the month they should be released! Oh wait..
Oh wait make a jab a condition of being released early
PR your logic is flawed if your fellow officers are unable to work becoming sick it would mean low staffing numbers.A highly risky situation.
Incorrect.
We have low staffing protocols already.
Mainly mean less unlock time for prisoners.
So why did you get jabbed Pukish….shome mistake?
I chose to get jabbed for a variety of reasons but it was still my choice
Trump plays a trump on Wall St:
How scared are tyrants Zuck, Jake, etc?
Real tricky things come out of Wuhan, eh? So yeah, I reckon Zuck & Jake will run scared awhile. Dunno about the strategy of issuing blank cheques tho. Could be financial advisers will look at that & go "Tut tut!"
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/21/business/trump-social-media-spac/index.html
Eftpostle Brian – brilliant!
Karl Te Kaha Pearce
20 October at 19:26 ·
The Book of Brian Chapter 2,
now do the white evangelic churches that preach the same sermon, just to cover all bases.
I don't think there is an official Hillsong position, but Brian Houston (who founded Hillsong) said that it's a "personal decision for each individual to make with the counsel of medical professionals."
Sounds sensible to me.
No… The Health department mandate over rides that.
Some Drs are being stood down for their "Alternative" unhelpful views We need all who are able to to be vaccinated.
I'm pro-vaxx and fully vaccinated, but I'm not a fan of forcing reluctant people to vaccinate. Education, yes. Compulsion, no.
Hi Gypsy, How do you feel about No Smoking? Seat Belts?.. They are mandated.
I remember the moans when Crash helmets were mandated for motorcyclists!
Me too! I was a young teen, but I remember the 'let those who ride decide' stickers. I bought a motorbike in the late '70's and I don't recall needing any law telling me to wear a helmet. I do however remember my mother saying if she saw me take off without the helmet she'd call the police on me. Ah, those were the days.
My 1957 BMW R50 which I bought in 1968. It was originally sold in Pretoria SA. The original owner rode it up through Africa, around Europe, down through Turkey and Afghanistan (as you could in those days) India and had it shipped to Perth. He then rode across the Nullarbor Plain to Melbourne and had it shipped to NZ. I bought the bike in Wellington and rode it for a number of years until I joined the RNZN in 1974. It was stored in parts until 2016 when I rebuilt it again as you see it now. Unfortunately the magneto has lost its magnetism over the past 50 years and there is no spark so it's not going at the moment. 🙁
Macro – for some reason my laptops blocking your image, so I googled a pic. What a tale your bike could tell after all it's adventures!
Neither involve a medical 'intervention'. And with smoking, there's another fundamental difference – no-one can be protected against second hand smoking. But as a fully vaccinated adult, I am extremely unlikely to a) contract Covid or b) have a significant adverse reaction if I do.
Time to get ugly?
The torching of cell phone towers, the sabotaging of the vaccine roll out. These sorts of crimes should all be considered crimes of low level Far Right terrorism, and investigated thoroughly and prosecuted accordingly with penalties severe enough to discourage like minded attacks.
But as yet we have not seen one apprehension or prosecution.
It's bloody tragic, and they are getting away with it.
Why are we spending millions of dollars every year on our security services, who we give extraordinary powers of surveilance to. Why haven't we seen even one arrest for these attacks on our pandemic response?
Do our spooks need a performance based pay cut, to get off their behinds and spur them into action?
I mean, what are we paying them for?
Jenny how did we get to this. I agree.Our spies only seem interested in spying on greenies .what do we spend all this money on .When they don't seem to be able to find real threats.These saboteurs are doing the same thing as terrorists .The end result is people dying so our spies should be chasing the health terrorists. The greenies have killed no one but have had huge spying resources wasted on unnecessary surveillance.
.
Wet, windy day at Gezza's Stream
Sussex University (at last) provides a clear response to demands that Kathleen Stock be fired.
https://twitter.com/SussexUni/status/1451201014875377672
BBC's Question Time shows the uninformed burbling that accompanies discussions. It appears to me that none of the first three, the questioner, the Labour MP or Fiona Bruce have investigated for themselves Prof Stock's work.
That uninformed meandering is abruptly halted when Fiona Bruce asks Robert Winston to respond in regards to his role at Wessex University and he replies as a biologist. (43:50)
https://youtu.be/kY2Fu_IBcOs?t=2386
Dare I say, a typical analytical male response, disregarding the niceties of emotional fluff that the other panelists get tangled up in. Thanks for picking out the only decent bit from the tedium.
You can dare, but go and have a look at 52:27.
Good stuff. So frustrating to see others tangled up in knots about how people should always be nice and polite to one another. Of course, that's appropriate for social interactions. But not for law and science where technical accuracy and clarity of terms is a paramount concern, not tiptoeing around feelings.
"…a way that we can keep vaccinated people safe from those who have not been."
(-5.30)
Question. If the Pfizer injection is safe and effective how is it that those who have received two doses need protecting from those who have not?
Serious.
Switching off the live feed now before they start talking about vaccinating 'pregnant people' and other such un- scientific nonsense.
Our medical complex can still not cope, will not cope as evidenced by the kiddies flue outbreak this winter. No matter how many people are vaccinated. I think that really is the crux of the matter. The fact that for the last 18 month very little was done to bolster our health sector with tools, good wages, retention of people leaving to oz, and training and hiring.
So yeah, us vaccinated people have to be protected from non vaccinated people, never mind that chances are it is the vaccinated ones without masks that will spread Covid like warm butter on a toast, cause 'I am vaccinated!"
disclaimer, i am vaccinated.
So, wear your mask, keep distance, sanitze, and don't insist in large concerts or festivals for a year or three.
Agree.
Like some others here, I am a regular attendee at hospital. The last two regular monthly appointments during lockdown have only taken place because I have rung up to query after radio silence. They just haven't got around to ensuring those regular treatment appointment notifications and schedules are maintained.
It doesn't bode well.
…us vaccinated people have to be protected from non vaccinated people,…
Excuse my ignorance here…but surely your vaccinations protect you from getting sick from Te Virus? No?
And because it is such a clever little injection it will only allow you to be infected by an unvaccinated person. No?
So this apartheid system is more about protecting the capacity of the public health system rather than actually having to physically protect the vaccinated from the unvaccinated…because, like, they are "fucking filth" etc etc?
A public health system…and I should not need to remind anyone purporting to identify as 'left wing'…that has been deliberately and systematically degraded over the past thirty years, at least.
Surely to goodness y'all have not forgotten the horrendous waiting lists that existed in the Beforetimes? The 6 hour plus waits in A & E?
And sorry Sabine…you might be aware that the Miracle Injection from the Pfizer Gods is far from effective at preventing transmission of Te Virus, and indeed will give the Double Shot an unfortunate sense of safety…but many don't because the hard sell has been so relentless.
And also, it would seem anecdotally, that the Double Shot are not inclined towards volunteering for the Brain Scrape because they truly believe they carry no virus. We here are unlikely to ever have a true indication of the ratio of vaccinated/unvaccinated infected when there are outbreaks. Luckily, this work has been done. I assume the PM is aware of this?
Such a pity that our government has failed on so many levels prior to Te Virus.
But hey. All's good. The Double Shot can party hard this summer and the poor, downtrodden hospitality sector can vaccine passport check its way back into business.
i suggest that you read the whole phrase again.
I said '…you might be aware…".
Considering that i said non of what you speak of, i will re-iterate my point again.
Any one who is not vaccinated must and should be scared of any one who is. Why?
Because we can carry the disease, be asymptomatic and not know about it all. If we were to get symptomatic for many of us that will mean sniffles. (As so far experiences from the rest of the planet have shown). Some – might get ill, but the vast majority will not.
The ones not vaccinated however will get ill, and in many cases will die. AS experience so far from the rest of hte planet has shown.
So mask up (always when outside, no matter how trivial), wash your hands, and sanitize.
Not 100%, no. Te Vaccine merely decreases one's risk of becoming hospitalised and/or dying from a COVID-19 infection – c'mon Rosemary, you know this.
Tbh, I couldn't identify any part of your comment @10.1.2 that could be construed as encouraging the hesitant to get vaccinated. It's almost as if you 'think' getting vaccinated is the wrong choice. "No?"
All "Te Virus" 'cares' about is spreading. The opinions you're continuing to spread here are unhelpful, imho, and in at least one way "Te Virus" is better than you – it’s unaware of the damage it's doing.
Tbh, I couldn't identify any part of your comment @10.1.2 that could be construed as encouraging the hesitant to get vaccinated. It's almost as if you 'think' getting vaccinated is the wrong choice. "No?"
Err…not sure what to make of that statement DMK…am I supposed to be encouraging people to get vaccinated? No one told me it is my job to convince others. The Pfizer injection surely sells itself?
What I am challenging at 10 is the statement from Ardern that the announced rules are because we need…
"…a way that we can keep vaccinated people safe from those who have not been."
…how about you address that?
How about you address the fact that our public health system has been so systematically and deliberately degraded over the past thirty years that an expected seasonal outbreak of RSV sent it into a spin?
How about you address the wisdom of our PM deliberately placing a target on the backs of those who have chosen not to take the Pfizer injection?
For very possibly sound reasons.
And if you don't know of anyone who has had an 'effect' and not reported it, you need to speak to more people. (Yes, yes, I get the whole 'not talking with anyone outside your bubble' thing…but give it a socially distanced and masked go, eh?)
The problem I have is that you started by asking,
it’s a really easy google to get efficacy rates, so I’m confused by the question. I have a straight answer to it below, the vaccine gives partial protection.
also confused by you positing that the boundaries the government is mandating are solely to protect the health system. Not sure what you mean, as it’s clear that for best protection of the population we need a very high vaccination rate.
Tell you what….watch this, give it your entire attention (bearing in mind that the host is a dyed in the wool pro- vaxxer who has very possibly torpedoed his popular channel). Hear me when I tell you that what happened to young Kyle has happened to too many our fellow Kiwis (worse, our young)…even having doctors dismiss the very real symptoms and suggest sufferers need psychiatric treatment. Kiwis have been made ill and Kiwis have died and their experiences have been completely dismissed and minimised by our so called experts.
And folk wonder why some are very reluctant to play the numbers on the pfizer injection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7inaTiDKaU
(oh, and I'd watch it soonish as youtube routinely censors material like this.)
Afaik pericarditis is a known adverse reaction to the vaccine.
I still don't know what you are saying re the efficacy of covid vaccines, that's what I'm asking for clarity on.
You said,
Do you really (still) not know the answer to this? Hard to have a conversation without knowing what you actually meant.
Err… did I say that it was your job to encourage people to get vaccinated?
I’d prefer that you didn't discourage people from getting vaccinated, which is clearly what you're doing with mis/disinformation along these (nonsensical) lines:
I stand by my point that your dissemination of vaccine mis/disinformation on this site is more than just potentially harmful during a global pandemic. If you must continue to sow mistrust in the "Miracle Injection from the Pfizer Gods", I'd prefer that you did it elsewhere. To be clear, mRNA vaccines are not miracles, although they do save lives.
On one point we agree – NZ's public health system has been under-resourced for many years. I'm just grateful to the many dedicated healthcare professionals who continue to do their best to prop it up – it must be a tiring and often thankless task.
the vaccine provides partial protection to individuals and society. It lowers the risk of ending up in hospital, or dying, and lowers the risk of passing on to other people. Unvaccinated people are much more likely to transmit to others, including the vaccinated, and to need ICU care and thus putting strain on health system. It’s a numbers game, increasing the odds of better outcomes.
I see it as a game of chance
– Unvaccinated with covid have a higher viral load than Vaccinated so it spreads more readily, therefore:
– The chance of an unvaccinated person infecting a vaccinated or unvaccinated person is higher than a vaccinated person infecting anyone
Also
– The chance of an unvaccinated person* contracting covid is higher because they have fewer, if any, antibodies to it than a vaccinated person
For the same reasons, i.e. viral load +/- antibodies:
– The unvaccinated are far, far more likely than the vaccinated to get really, really sick and end up in hospital or dead.
The immune-compromised are somewhere in-between. They're playing the games of chance, but the dice is loaded against them – they won't 'win' as often as the vaccinated because they may not produce enough antibodies against Covid – hence the need for a third dose for some to even the chances up a bit.
*the unvaccinated may of course been vaccinated the hard way – by contracting Covid – they’ll lose that protection (antibodies) over time, just like the vaccinated – but maybe they’ll prefer the easier way to get antibodies when that happens – a shot in the arm.
– Unvaccinated with covid have a higher viral load than Vaccinated …
https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2074
– The chance of an unvaccinated person infecting a vaccinated or unvaccinated person is higher than a vaccinated person infecting anyone
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02689-y
The chance of an unvaccinated person* contracting covid is higher because they have fewer, if any, antibodies to it than a vaccinated person
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3563
The unvaccinated are far, far more likely than the vaccinated to get really, really sick and end up in hospital or dead.
This may well be true…until the Double Shot need the latest booster. I'd need to see research. Having said that…it is still the case that that for most people with few or no co morbidities Te Virus will not put them in hospital.
the unvaccinated may of course been vaccinated the hard way – by contracting Covid – they’ll lose that protection (antibodies) over time, just like the vaccinated
Two parts to that…a) we generally do not refer to people who have naturally acquired immunity as having been vaccinated. This is one of those strange terminology shifts we have seen over the past 18months. b) not 'just like the vaccinated' at all . https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01442-9
Your first link is a bit of an outlier when searching for viral load – if it's backed up, it still says vaccination prevents spread
The second link says what we've known for some time. That Delta changes the game. Even then, it recommends vaccination and a booster – which is where the world is at.
Vaccination is still better than no vaccination for saving lives and reducing the spread. My major concern (aside from the risk to Immune compromised people) is that if we allow Covid to continue to spread we will almost certainly get more mutation – and one of these will be completely impervious to vaccines and current treatments.
a) yes, I agree with you , just like 'freedoms' is the new word for 'more activities in public spaces'
b) last para in your link
Did anyone else hear Ardern earlier?
Seriously. Only this govt could manage to over complicate and confuse levels more than they had already done.
Seemed clear to me.
Is there a correlation between being right wing and comprehension problems?
Certainly with right wing opinionators posing as Journalists..
On the other hand the ODT seemes to have no problem understanding it.
Is there a correlation between being right wing and comprehension problems?
As eldest son of a hardline Nat supporter in the '50s, who was himself eldest son of a hardline Nat supporter in the '30s, I can assure you that the general answer is yes.
Seemed clear to me.
Me too. In fact I was pleasantly surprised by how incisive and comprehensive her scheme for our path ahead seems to be. Think we can credit these guys:
https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-levels-and-updates/independent-advisory-groups/scphag/
But not just that brains trust – I reckon the PM deserves credit for her clarity of grasp & presentation of their design.
Cool. That is helpful
You can explain a few things then.
By 90% do the mean 90% of sall Maori, 90% of all Pacific Islanders, 90% of all Asians, (0% of all Indians, 90% of all males, 90% of all females in every DHB?
And you can give us the difference in numbers between sparodic imported cases and orange increasing cases?
And what all these businesses are using to scan vaccine cert's
And who is policing the scanning
This appears to be pretty unambiguous.
From Stuff
They even repeat it for those who had problems with the first statement…
So these are the DHBs..
And just to clarify..
If you want to break it down by area – then try the maps here.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data/covid-19-vaccination-uptake-rates-across-nz
By area, it looks to me like the laggard areas are in semi-rural suburbs of the Auckland metro area, and especially over in the North Shore
Unambiguously bad news for those expecting to open up right now. Just Auckland Metro being at 86% means they are 4% (+ 6-8 weeks) away from 90% double vaccinated target. If we had a political opposition right now they would be highlighting that shrinking the 6-8 weeks undermines the effectiveness of the vaccination effort being undertaken, and this is effectively what the government is asking to happen.
It's 90% of all eligible people within all DHBs. That will lift vaccination rates across all sectors. But we won't be constrained if some sectors are reluctant or for some reason unable to be as fully vaccinated as others. The vaccination programme will not stop there and everyone will still be encouraged to become vaccinated.
Yeah, I wondered about the viability of the 90% target. She deliberately gave the govt wiggle-room though – think she said they will review it end of next month. Looks like they will have to target towns/groups of slackers (Murupara for instance) so expect a shift to selective rather than broad containment.
I liked the change criteria on the Red.
One of the things that this will do is to push some of the laggard DHBs outside of Auckland to get to 90% double dose vaccination rates.
If you look at the vaccination data by DHB you can see the ones who won't get changes for a while..
I just want to know when I can get out of Auckland. Still getting vague "it depends" crap from the Govt.
Looks like our whanau Christmas gathering up North won't happen this year because Northland DHB is underfunded, understaffed, and facing an uphill battle.
Staff shortages are severe everywhere.
I know of several people who have had treatments in main centers (stitching, small ops etc.) and the doctor had to interrupt whilst working (! how safe is that?) because of being called to another patient. This is truly 3rd world stuff.
Is this not how the policy is implemented by DHB's?
https://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/key-health-sector-organisations-and-people/district-health-boards/accountability-and-funding/population-based-funding-formula
From "Structure of the model – points 1-3
DHBs are looking better than I expected on that graph. Uniformity of catch-up seems to be happening. I suspect the problems lie in smaller pockets and may need micro-analysis for targeting.
Facebook
Graphic of the “Traffic light” system.
Not sure if changing from “Levels” at this stage is the best idea, however.
We won't be changing to the traffic light system across the motu until all DHBs reach 90% of all eligible people within the DHB vaccinated. Auckland will however move to red when they reach that milestone.
"all DHBs reach 90% of all eligible people".
I live in Wellington. Capital and Coast look like getting to the 90% level before most of the other DHBs. Suppose we get up to 90+% by, say, 1 December. Will we go to code Orange?
Suppose we, and every other DHB except Taranaki get to 90+5 by, say, 1 March 2022. Will everyone except Taranaki be moved to Orange or will nobody move to that status?
Suppose Taranaki never gets to 90+% Will the entire country, with the possible exception of Auckland, never ever get to the traffic light system?
Your comment, which I copied, appears to say that the last statement is true. Is it?
AB, who has commented at 11.3 seems to think it is totally clear. Perhaps he (she?) would care to answer as well.
Short answer. No.
Taranaki is currently at 81% of eligible persons with a single shot. Capital and Coast at 89%. I'm not sure what you are worried about.
Broad outline seemed pretty simple to me. I have always suspected that most of the people who claim this stuff is 'confusing' can't be arsed trying to understand it, don't watch the press conferences because they are 'propaganda', and are simply inherently anti-Labour. If John Key was slurring and shrugging his way through the same stuff and assuring us he was comfortable with it all, they'd say he was masterful and isn’t it great to have someone with ‘business experience’ as PM.
You need to pay attention Chris. Things are bound to be different under the non-elimination regime.
Why is it that only Nat and ACT voters can't understand these things?
"Why is it that only Nat and ACT voters can't understand these things?"
Lol. Ouch!
I am a lot of things, including probably thick for thinking the govt is just over complicating things.
But I am not and never will be an ACT voter lol
Here is a pdf of the traffic light rules.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300436106/live-government-sets-90-per-cent-vaccine-target-for-no-more-lockdowns
5.4 magnitude. Just how bad is that?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/126760514/54-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-lower-north-island
Let’s hope it is not a magmatic earthquake.
I felt it. It was a weird one. Not rolling. Just one quick big jolt
The Gods are angry?
Just wonder what Ken Ring might advise (though there is a full moon about)!!!
When the war is over. Aren't you meant to release prisoners of war?
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/10/21/historic-victory-us-judge-rules-guantanamo-detainees-imprisonment-illegal?
Oh, that's right they aren't prisoners of war. They are 'unlawful combatantts'. (it's not kidnapping if we do it).
And the war isn't over, after being beaten on the ground President Biden says the U.S. will continue with, 'Over the Horizon" attacks. (it's not terrorism, if we do it).
On a lighter note:
Well, we've just cleaved somewhere between 5 and 15% of our population from society.
What could possibly go wrong….
From Facebook:
"So we're now told if we dont take a government mandated medicine of which there is no other choice available we will be excluded from society and be the targets for vitriol and hatred. Sounds like Jacinda just introduced apartheid NZ style"
That's something repeatable should see some of the stuff directed at Maori which I wont repeat.
Fuse is lit.
In France if you don't want to vaxx they offer you the option of getting (and paying for) a negative covid test in the previous 72 hours if you want to get into a venue, That sounds like a better system to me
Yes, there are other options especially around saliva test and rapid tests.
I've got a really bad feeling about what happens next.
Wouldn't our WW2 vets be so proud today…
'..of New Zealanders doing what they have to..
Given that military conscription is so many rungs further up the authoritarian ladder than the vaccine rules that seems like a rather stupid thing to say. That before getting to the ridiculous comparison with what the Nazis were up to.
If we don't get out of this stupid lockdown by Christmas I will either kill myself or vote ACT
That is a bit drastic …I mean voting ACT
Yes and the result will be the same anyway.
i can send chocolate?
Whisky preferred. It takes the edge off
well, you can not say i did not try! 🙂
Try under youtube seeking ralfy he does the hard work tasting to give his opinions, ( and his background is working class from Glasgow so he has credibility 😇) and he supports non-chill filter and no added colours and no accountants watered down 40abv
@Hero thank you thank you thank you.I shall retreat to my Bothy.
Have a double Robologic.
have seen this floating about for a few days now
buckle in, the ride is bumpy.
.
swordfish on Twitter: "Unprecedented swings
from National & Non-Voting to Labour at the 2020 General Election: Highlighted by comparing major swings at the 1999, 2008 & 2020 New Zealand General Elections (I've calculated the 𝑹𝒂𝒘 𝑽𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 from NZES & Vote Compass Flow-of-the-Vote stats):" / Twitter
.
.Unprecedented swings from National & Non-Voting to Labour at the 2020 General Election: Highlighted by comparing major swings at the 1999, 2008 & 2020 New Zealand General Elections (I've calculated the 𝑹𝒂𝒘 𝑽𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 from NZES & Vote Compass Flow-of-the-Vote stats):
This doesn't of course take into account reciprocal swings … there are always counter-swings going on in the opposite direction … so a more complex understanding would involve a focus on the overall 𝒏𝒆𝒕 vote gains or losses between the various parties.
b
The population health results of Ardern's announcements today, tracked to Christmas 2021, are just such an axial point for voters. Still quite a way to 2023, but it's a pivot for whole segments of voters.
The population health results of Ardern's announcements today, tracked to Christmas 2021, are just such an axial point for voters. Still quite a way to 2023, but it's a pivot for whole segments of voters.
I predict that half of Auckland will vote for anyone who promises NOT to lock them up in their houses for months on end. Kindness is over. Let us out Jacinda. 10 weeks+++ is too much.
And there is still no clear path out other than "just get 99.99% of everyone vaccinated, and the neighbour's dog as well, then I will think about it"
Pathetic. Petty. Authoritarian. Careless of people's need to get on with life.
People need to get on with life? Life? Ya mean, stayin’ alive?
Life without human connection is not worth living.
Exactly. Which is what immune-compromised people are looking at with covid on the streets.
Cool lets stay locked up for another 6 months then. Sounds eminently realistic.
Lockdowns are the opiate of champagne socialists | The Spectator Australia
It is what it is.
roblogic You along with chris t need to ring Help line !
I'm not kidding.
Are you in Auckland?
.
Labour & Green reciprocal swings 2008-2017:
swordfish on Twitter: "@appleqwerty Don't have 2020 Lab to Green swing yet … but: https://t.co/iQEkHabRRn" / Twitter
This is interesting that Radius Care have had enough of lockdown and are opening up for visitors.
Radius Care: Retirement village chain to allow visitors for residents' mental health (newstalkzb.co.nz)
The more fractious the residents, the higher the staffing levels so damn the torpedoes, open the doors and pay the fines.
/
"Radius Care" have "had enough"! All change! Radius Care have HAD ENOUGH!!!!
Perhaps they are trying to make Shaun Hendy's model prediction more accurate!
Perhaps some of Hendy's model predictions included a 'had enough factor'
At least there is employment on the way for young fellas with a shovel, courtesy of Radius Care, good on them for looking out for the yoof.
"young fellas with a shovel" – Lordy!
Totally left field one, but I needed a break from everyone going on and on about Covid.
Alec Baldwin just accidently killed one person and wounded another with a prop gun.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/22/alec-baldwin-fired-prop-gun-woman-death-movie-rust-sheriff
" Alec Baldwin fired prop gun accidentally killing a woman on set of movie Rust – sheriff
Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a movie set in an accident that killed a photography chief and injured a director, authorities in New Mexico have said.
A statement from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office said Baldwin, who is acting in and producing the film Rust, had fired the prop gun in an incident on Thursday.
The statement said deputies were dispatched to the set around 2pm in Bonanza Creek Ranch when a 911 caller reported a shooting…………"
Its not that hard.
Treat all weapons as loaded, don't aim at anyone and don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to fire.
Yeah, know what you mean.
Was how Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee's kid) bit the bullet (pardon the pun), from memory.
Jon-Erik Hexum as well (real blast from the past)
And systems. Lots of systems, developed in response to how rare incidents happened and could have been prevented.
Read an article by a movie armourer ages ago, talking about how asome of these incidents can happen, and in particular deconstructung the Brandon Lee incident and the standard industry practises that meant it shouldn't happen again. According to the article, part of the problem with that scene was that the production was being rushed and they'd deviated from the plan.
Because of the rush they hadn't checked that the barrel was unobstructed. So especially since then the angles were usually worked out that if someone was supposed to be filmed with a firearm pointed at them, it was actually pointed away from them but that wasn't apparent in the movie.
But maybe this lot found a new way to screw it up fatally with a single point of failure.
Film is independent apparently. So presumably not the biggest budget. Maybe they were just saving money on the stupidest place to try to save money. Safety of the actors and crew, and they prop weapon protocols got a bit lax.
Could probably add time constraints as well with equipment hire etc, like you mentioned with Lee.
Yeah. It'll probably all come out in the wash, but usually the director and the armourer or stunt coordinator would bear the bulk of responsibility unless the person holding the weapon made the primary screw up (e.g. Hexum).
The other thing ISTR from that article was that he'd brief everyone, including extras, with a demonstration of the power of a blank at close range, e.g. with a plank or box or watermelon. Good way to stop people treating it like a toy.
Damned if I can find the original article, though. Lots of the details check out in the google search, but I haven't found the article I'm thinking of – it had a really god flow in the writing and making its case, too.
"Damned if I can find the original article, though. Lots of the details check out in the google search, but I haven't found the article I'm thinking of"
Hey mate.
Is this it?
https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-rules-for-shooting-on-film-sets-71797
Mentions the angle thing
"In the same way that a punch striking an actor can be filmed without any contact the firing of a gun at an actor can be accomplished by cheating the angle of the camera.:"
I don't think so, but I might be conflating a couple of different articles.
stupid cosplay cowboy Americans. half of their films revolve around shootouts and punching each other in the face.
Have to feel for the dude though.
Actors have no control over prop guns etc.
Just heard an interview with an American correspondent. Apparently he wasn't in a great space at the cop station. Would screw you up a bit for life I would imagine.
Yes Chris T That was my reaction. How terrible to kill a friend with a faulty? prop.
Bit harsh. Movies with guns and violence are international.
Case rupture?
https://preview.redd.it/b8t7burut3j71.jpg?auto=webp&s=97b50d231db98671be113d1db3df6a4a82ddff52
please fix user name on next comment.
Has to be I guess.
She defo' isn't a real gun and that def' aint a a live round.
Problem with even real pistols like that is aim is crap, So even if Baldwin wasn't pointing it at her, If it was shattered faulty metal it could have gone out at any angle aand hit the people.
Unlikely I reckon, especially without Baldwin being reported hospitalised with a hand injury (or face injury, if rifle breech go boom when he's looking down the sights).
The film is set in 1880, so revolvers and lever actions are the ones hollywood like for that period. Mostly cartridges, but cap&ball were still around at that time.
So maybe a chainfire of the cap&ball revolving cylinder, but then you have to ask why the unused cylinders had dense obstructions and full charges. Or a Brandon Lee repeat. Or some small rocks went up the barrel while acting and became real projectiles with a blank charge behind them, and folks off the line of aim were hit by the dispersion pattern.
Lots of possibilities for fuckup or unforeseen hazard. We'll find out soon enough.