I hate Pukekos, bloody nasty little birds if you ask me. I remember one dark, dank, and foggy late winter or early spring morning at the Unitec campus happening upon a mother duck desperately guarding her posse of a dozen or so ducklings and trying to fight off the depredations of 3-4 Pukekos who were attempting to pick off her ducklings; I immediately dismounted my bike, armed myself with some stones and after scoring a direct hit on the most aggressive Pukeko mother duck and I escorted her fluffy charges safely to the waters edge.
Not today, not on my watch you shi*t head Pukekos!!
I was also 45 minutes late for work, but nobody minded when I informed them of the nobility of my mission.
Yes, sadly some – particularly male – pukekos will kill ducklings. I managed to talk Bluey out of doing so once by yelling out “Bluey! No!” when he was about to go after a lone duckling caught up in a fast flowing section of the stream & drifting downstream. He stopped immediately (to my surprise & gratitude) & went back to foraging for grass seeds & roots.
My last Pook Family learned the meaning of “No!” when I had to teach them that trimming the grass on my back lawn was ok, but pulling it out to eat the roots was NOT. I achieved that by yelling “No! No pulling out grass!” & dashing up to them going apeshit until they figured it out.
Some mallard drakes will attack & kill pooklets too. Instinct I guess. They must “know” they represent a future threat to their ducklings.
Nature’s pretty raw sometimes. But look at the horrendous things some human apes do to other human apes & to other creatures. They’re the worst because they should know better.
And they stole almost every persimmon I ever grew before they were even half ripe. Pulled out every oi oi from the wetlands I planted and ever other wet land species. Subsequently found out that I could get a special licence to shoot them. But by then it was too late.
A senior scientist withdrew from a river project when bosses signalled they wanted contentious findings removed.
Following a steering group meeting in November last year, Environment Canterbury senior hydrological scientist Wilco Terink circulated the executive summary and conclusions of a report on the Rakaia River he’d been working on for two-and-a-half-years. “Although it is still a draft (need to implement the reviewer’s comments), I do not think the conclusions will change significantly,” he wrote.
You can imagine the horror of bureaucrats when receiving this. Scientists expecting a job to be done properly are like vermin. They must be eradicated!
The intrepid reporter exposes how the bureaucrats went about the process of achieving eradication, in the guise of a search for consensus.
These internal emails, and others released to Newsroom under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA), paint a picture of a snowballing situation which led to Terink clashing with managers, and the report’s main conclusions being hidden from the public.
Well of course. No point hiring bureaucrats unless they hide scientific discoveries from the public!
Terink left ECan earlier this year. Approached for comment for this story, the scientist – contacted at his new consultancy Q-Hydrology – said he was forbidden from disclosing information about the project. Davie declared that in a letter delivered to Terink on his final day.
I presume there was a clause in his employment contract that was designed to authorise the bureaucrats to impose secrecy to prevent the public learning about the scientist's discoveries. It's how National & Labour have operated most of my life since I first noticed their behavioural pattern half a century ago. They cite a principle of transparent governance to deceive the public, while ensuring bureaucrats ignore it.
Let's face it, most GP's out in rural areas arent exactly the best and brightest of the medical profession.
Anyway, enjoy your holidays, Standard-posters and look forward to reading more of your thoughts in 2022. Even if they are getting more and more right wing and transphobic.
I have to disagree Millsy! Our GP and Nurse Practitioner are a fantastic asset to our rural community, always smiling, approachable and quick to refer on to a specialist if needed. We were one of the first small communities to hold vaccination clinics for all back in May. We are very lucky to have them.
Let's face it, most GP's out in rural areas arent exactly the best and brightest of the medical profession.
Quite the contrary – in my experience medical care in our smaller provincial towns is very good. Often the GP's are people who prefer working where they have a bit more autonomy and the opportunity to get to know their patients better.
Their biggest problem is often they’re overloaded and struggle to find locums to cover for when they need a break.
Although I was yakking to a gp the other day and he said rural drs always are one of the three m's, mercenary, mad or messiahs. I'm picking conlin might be a touch of the last 2.
The drug is used to de-worm livestock and to treat a very limited number of parasitic diseases in humans, but the Ministry of Health has warned it could cause serious harm if used to treat or prevent Covid-19.
Whether IVM works or not is irrelevant to the point – telling us that it's a horse de-wormer and very dangerous for humans is a flat out lie.
I really do wish I could believe a "day of reckoning" would arrive for all these bastards that have knowingly spun false shit around off-label use of existing medication and for all those who deliberately and cynically set up studies in such a way as to fail.
But there will just be a "sidling away" from it all, facilitated as much as anything else, by the swathes of faceless fear monkeys who won't want to face up to having been gullible chumps.
I really do wish I could believe a "day of reckoning" would arrive for all these bastards that have knowingly spun false shit around off-label use of existing medication and for all those who deliberately and cynically set up studies in such a way as to fail.
Glasses of ginger beer were clinked as part of an impromptu gathering of a few mates this afternoon here in Jacinda's Naughty Corner, the Far Far North. Ivermectin, and other familiar therapeutics now non grata in this weird Covid world were mentioned. Other stuff too. We have a community, already resilient. We exchange homegrown food, fish, meat and ideas.
Oh, and interesting tidbits that pop up on the interweb.
Despite so many other peer reviewed papers from doctors and scientists non grata being disappeared down the memory hole, this little gem persists.
Why are we vaccinating children against COVID-19?
Abstract
This article examines issues related to COVID-19 inoculations for children. The bulk of the official COVID-19-attributed deaths per capita occur in the elderly with high comorbidities, and the COVID-19 attributed deaths per capita are negligible in children. The bulk of the normalized post-inoculation deaths also occur in the elderly with high comorbidities, while the normalized post-inoculation deaths are small, but not negligible, in children. Clinical trials for these inoculations were very short-term (a few months), had samples not representative of the total population, and for adolescents/children, had poor predictive power because of their small size. Further, the clinical trials did not address changes in biomarkers that could serve as early warning indicators of elevated predisposition to serious diseases. Most importantly, the clinical trials did not address long-term effects that, if serious, would be borne by children/adolescents for potentially decades.
And it's in- depth, well referenced, peer reviewed, published and everything.
Really? This again!? Talk about undermining faith in human nature. Just awful.
COVID-19 treatments [updated 23 December 2021] Not recommended for COVID-19 The TGA has not approved, and the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce guidelines do not recommend, the following treatments for COVID-19.
Ivermectin, doxycycline, zinc
There is not enough evidence to support the safe and effective use of these drugs (separately, or in combination) to prevent or treat COVID-19.
The Clinical Evidence Taskforce does not recommend the use of ivermectin, doxycycline or zinc outside of properly conducted clinical trials with appropriate ethical approval.
Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19
When Can Taking Ivermectin Be Unsafe? The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 in people or animals. Ivermectin has not been shown to be safe or effective for these indications.
There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. It is not okay.
Even the levels of ivermectin for approved human uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death.
“One, it can be toxic,” he said. “Two is that while people are pursuing – perhaps they’re at home and they have symptoms and risk factors, and they’re obtaining a veterinary ivermectin prescription and trying that to control their COVID-19, they’re missing on proven treatments from randomized clinical trials.”
Ivermectin is not an anti-viral medication. It is typically used to treat animals for parasites although smaller dosages can be prescribed for human use to treat parasitic worms, head lice or skin conditions like rosacea, according to the FDA.
Even Trump, when laid low with COVID, didn't take ivermectin, although he did have some bright ideas about light and bleach as anti-COVID treatments.
"A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposedly we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. (To Bryan) And I think you said you’re going to test that, too. Sounds interesting, right?"
He continued.
"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful."
Later, Trump clarified his comments after a reporter asked Bryan whether disinfectants could actually be injected into COVID-19 patients.
"It wouldn’t be through injections, almost a cleaning and sterilization of an area. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t work, but it certainly has a big effect if it’s on a stationary object."
On ther other hand, Bolsonaro thinks using ivermectin as part of a COVID-19-treatment regime is a good idea – go figure.
Brazil's Main COVID Strategy Is A Cocktail Of Unproven Drugs [15 June 2021] In Brazil, where more than 488,000 people have already died due to COVID-19 — second only to the United States — pseudoscience has become government policy. Bolsonaro regularly promotes repurposing unproven and cheap drugs to his nearly 40 million social media followers as he continues to minimize the gravity of the pandemic and dismiss its victims. Meanwhile, his administration has spent millions of dollars to produce, purchase and promote pills such as the lice medication ivermectin, the antimalarial chloroquine and popular antibiotic azithromycin as well as anticoagulants, painkillers and a set of vitamins. The Ministry of Health and numerous doctors endorsed using a combination of these medications to treat COVID-19, even though there is no solid evidence that it works.
"It's not because they believe it works, but because it is a way for them to escape their responsibility for controlling the pandemic," said Jesem Orellana, a Manaus-based epidemiologist at Fiocruz Amazônia, one of 16 units of the public health research center Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. For at least a month last fall, Orellana urged local authorities to implement a lockdown.
And every time I read someone telling me how dangerous IVM is I know they are bullshitting. This is a drug that has been used for decades, with a remarkably good safety record over billions of human doses – and these bastards just lie about it.
So anything else you might want to quote from them at effusive length is rejected as untrustworthy.
Bullshit. From the abstract of your June 2020 "Actually it is" link.
In vivo studies of animal models revealed a broad range of antiviral effects of ivermectin, however, clinical trials are necessary to appraise the potential efficacy of ivermectin in clinical setting.
Ivermectin has antiviral effects – the efficacy of these antiviral effects in clinical settings, e.g. the efficacy of ivermectin as an anti-COVID-19 medication, is unknown, although the few robust trials conducted to date suggest that using ivermectin to combat COVID-19 is at best a waste of time and other resources.
Continuing to promote ivermectin as an anti-COVID-19 treatment is irresponsible, imho. Lest we forget, in October 2020 RL asserted (of the COVID-19 pandemic) "It's over" (and that's a revealing thread, particularly with the benefit of hindsight) – at least 3 times. I doubt the reliability of many of RL's pandemic reckons, but everyone can decide for themselves.
Ivermectin Should Not Be Recommended to Treat Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 Infection Since these 5 systematic reviews were published, the results of a new clinical trial have been published. This trial was a well designed, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial that enrolled 500 persons per arm. Currently, it is the second largest trial that assesses the effect of ivermectin on COVID-19 outcomes. Although it is still underpowered due to a lower percentage of events than expected, this trial did not detect a significant effect of ivermectin on preventing hospitalization nor the need for mechanical ventilatory support. The only other randomized controlled trial considered to be at a low risk for bias in all the systematic reviews also found that ivermectin had no beneficial effect on time-to-recovery (Lopez-Medina et al.) Both of these trials were peer-reviewed and published in reputable journals. All of the other trials were either much smaller, not placebo-controlled, and/or not double-blinded. Furthermore, 5 of 11 studies included are unpublished and merely posted on preprint websites.
In conclusion, based on 4 well conducted systematic reviews and the results of the 2 best-designed clinical trials so far, we concur with most international COVID-19 guidelines that the current evidence does not support the use of ivermectin as treatment for COVID-19 infection.
Misinformation about the efficacy of ivermectin in COVID-19 infection should be countered. A paper such as the review by Kory et al. is used by influencers and the social media to create confusion and increase the distrust of people in international evidence-based COVID-19 recommendations. What low- and middle-income countries need is more access to oxygen and COVID-19 vaccines, and not ivermectin.
I still stand by that statement in October 2020. At that point in time we knew enough to end the original pandemic if we had acted decisively – well before all the inevitable variants arose.
And there is indeed plenty of positive IVM clinical evidence undertaken by people who actually have to treat COVID afflicted patients that when combined using metastudies clearly show something useful is happening. My position has been that it's a remarkably safe, cheap drug that if individuals or their clinician's want to use – there should be no objection.
Instead what we got was an irrational, blatantly idiotic fearmongering campaign from Big Pharma and it's shills like you that it was 'too dangerous' to use 'off label' for COVID. We've seen numerous serious academics have their work on this topic refused or prevented from being published, we've seen governments block it's use without any reasonable explanation.
At the same time your reliance on a small number of failed RCT trials to rest your argument on is highly selective. As I've pointed out in the past RCT trials are only one small part of how medical research progresses and not even the most important or conclusive part.
I don't doubt it – that's why I've taken each of your subsequent pandemic reckons with a grain of salt.
FORGET THE MISTAKE
REMEMBER THE LESSON Many people repeat the same pattern of a certain mistake a few times over before they open up their eyes to it. Unfortunately, there are others who are too stubborn to ever admit their own mistake.
These people stop themselves from further development. It is better to face your own mistakes instead of trying to escape from them. They will never be mended that way.
Btw – what am I a shill for (consensus expert opinion maybe?), and what might be motivating that supposed shilling?
Whereas what motivates your shilling for ivermectin and other unproven treatments is crystal clear – "It's over." Except it wasn't over, and it ain't over, although the recent decrease in the number of tragic daily COVID-19 deaths (back to October 2020 levels) is a promising trend – I wonder if Omicron and vaccines might be having an effect.
No. Because frankly there were too many people invested in it not being over. The moral power that COVID had gifted them was too useful to them.
Whereas what motivates your shilling for ivermectin and other unproven treatments is crystal clear
Nowhere have I stated that IVM is either proven nor should be used in preference to any other treatment. Putting words into my mouth – contemptible no?
Because frankly there were too many people invested in it not being over.
If, in your mind, this allows you cling to your "it’s over" fantasy, then by all means keep telling yourself that's the reason; that these "too many people" somehow controlled and continue to control how this on-going pandemic is unfolding.
I wish it had never happened every day, but that's not working either.
Putting words into my mouth – contemptible no?
Yep – shills are contemptible, imho. I believe you’re on record here as having purchased a stock of ivermectin.
You have 30 minutes to find 3 examples of where I actively and directly recommended IVM on this site as a proven treatment for COVID. Or a retraction.
Just as a clue my consistent approach is typified here:
As I immediately stated next "Either it will be shown to work on it's own merits or not" – and as far as I'm concerned that remains an open question. Frankly I'm of the view that Ivermectin is cheap, safe and was worth trying – and even if in the long run it turns out to be useless then so what?
You have 30 minutes to find 3 examples of where I actively and directly recommended IVM on this site as a proven treatment for COVID. Or a retraction.
So I have 30 minutes! Firm but fair
Happy to retract the claim that you (RL) "actively and directly recommended IVM on this site as a proven treatment for COVID", were it not for the fact that I made no such claim.
You know this. That you would fabricate this falsehood is as disappointing as it is unsurprising – for the record, I completely reject your inappropriate efforts to bully me by putting words in my mouth.
I will retract any of my quoted words that you can show are false, because I'm comfortable with admitting my mistakes. For the record, my "shilling for ivermectin" jibe was motivated by your misplaced claim (@10:09 pm) that I'm a shill for Big Pharma, and (somehow) involved in “an irrational, blatantly idiotic fearmongering campaign“. Wow!
Instead what we got was an irrational, blatantly idiotic fearmongering campaign from Big Pharma and it's shills like you…
And, for the record (again), I'm well aware of some of the defects in Big Pharma's business and R&D models – even highlighted a few.
RL, it's my belief that your evident enthusiasm for putative anti-COVID treatments that have either not been approved or are (in the case of ivermectin) actively discouraged by drug and medicine regulatory authorities, is related to your October 2020 assertions that the pandemic was over. I might be wrong – but I have a sense that individuals who are used to getting their own way will naturally prefer to talk down the seriousness of the pandemic, and claim that vitamin D or other treatments can end the pandemic ("It's over"), because when "It's over" the public health constraints on freedom of choice and action will return to their 'normal' settings (BAU). And yes, those constraints are more challenging to some than others.
I believe (with a high degree of certainty) that claims the pandemic was or indeed is over are false, and (with a moderate degree of certainty) that claims ivermectin is an effective medical treatment for COVID-19 infections in humans are (according to currently available scientific evidence) also false.
Further (and I've said this before), I believe that such claims are at least potentially injurious to public health, in that they clearly (imho) undermine public health system efforts to protect populations from injury and/or death during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I regret that you find my opposition to some of your beliefs relating to the pandemic challenging, but I'll continue to do what I can (stating my beliefs), while I still can. Having said that, I'll refrain from reading your comments for the next 10 days so as to avoid the temptation to reply.
Very careful and knowledgeable opinion piece in the Herald from the pathologist who performed the autopsy on the Dunedin man who died of myocarditis after being vaccinated.
Conclusion: risk of dying from myocarditis after Covid-19 infection is 100 times higher than from myocarditis after vaccination.
" Mandated counselling by vaccinators would seem appropriate. It would also seem prudent to bring back the old-fashioned method of a millisecond aspiration just before injection, to check for an intravascular position of the needle, because the mRNA vaccine caused a myocarditis event in mice injected intravascularly (instead of intramuscularly)."
I was also very interested in the widespread occurrence of myocarditis resulting from all manner of conditions. I think, when people compare Covid with the flu, saying, "it's no worse", they are vastly underestimating the flu.
From the previous discussions, the downside of aspiration is increased pain. Which makes me wonder if the non-aspiration is about lowering the pain and thereby lowering the hesitancy of folks who are afraid of needles, that sort of thing.
So, I think we should take this opportunity to strengthen our vaccine and response readiness as much as possible. Omicron will get here soon enough, and hopefully it will be a mostly benign disease that allows us all to build up some natural immunity to more harmful Covid varieties.
The similar study released a couple of days ago from Imperial College included vaccination status when comparing omicron and delta. The reduction in hospitalisation omicron vs delta was much greater in vaccinated people. Unvaccinated people only had an 11% reduction in hospitalisation.
some of what is being reported is preprints and not peer reviewed. I expect mistakes are made and that interpretations of data evolve over time. Things are changing rapidly too
With Ardern’s government now in its second term, one can only hope that a successful handling of the pandemic is not its only legacy, important as that is. There is much unfinished business for a progressive party in Aotearoa New Zealand.
He says " Hence the re-election in 2020 of the NZLP with a majority of the popular vote—a feat only matched in the depths of the Great Depression, with the election of the first Labour government."
In fact in 2020 the Labour Party scraped in with a majority only if you ignore the invalid and disallowed votes. They got 50.01%. Counting all the votes cast reduces it to 49.45%. In 1935 the Labour Party were nowhere near 50%. They got only 47.23%
The only party that topped the 50% number was National in 1951 when they got a massive 53.99%. I wonder why Peter chose to ignore that election? It certainly makes one doubt the accuracy of his other claims.
I'm not entirely sure one should not count invalid votes in this calculation. Some of them are certainly protest votes and probably should be counted. I know one person who votes by writing across the paper. "NONE OF THE SWINE" and then puts it in the box. At least that is what he tells me he does. He says he never got over his anarchist days at University.
I should perhaps mention 1938 when Labour got 55.8% That was not of course "the election of the first Labour government" but the re-election. If Peter can entirely forget 1951 he could easily confuse 1938 and 1935.
edit. I see DS got in while I was typing this. Quite right. I was doing this form memory and hadn’t considered 46 and 49.
"Immigration Minister Phil Twyford called Santos’ lawyer, Marricel Weischede, to confirm Santos had been given a character waiver, overriding the court order to be deported."
Twyford is the Associate Minister. This is a very unusual action. Normally the Minister announces all the good things and the Associated Minister gets assigned the rubbish things the Minister wants to keep clear of.
Actually this really is a Christmas Miracle. It is the first thing in the four years Phil has been in the Cabinet that he has done something right.
Residence appeals referred by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal for consideration of the grant of residence as exceptions to government residence instructions;
Requests for exceptions to government residence instructions;
Requests for special directions;
Requests to reconsider temporary entry class visa applications;
Requests for visas under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009 from people who are not entitled to apply for a visa because they are in New Zealand unlawfully;
You will see that these are all things that can get a Minister into trouble. After this was the thing that got Lees-Galloway into trouble when he allowed Sroubek, who had imported drugs, permanent residency.
Giving them to an Associate Minister gets the things that can cause a Minister real trouble out of the Minister's hair without actually releasing any power to the one in the Associate role. If a decision turns out to be wrong it is the person who made it who is left to struggle.
That was like John Ehrlichman's view of someone caught up in the Watergate affair. Of course in the end Ehrlichman was caught in the same way.
“Well, I think we ought to let him hang there,” Ehrlichman told Dean. “Let him twist slowly, twist slowly in the wind.”
Well it’s that time of the year yet again, when the Jolly Red Man pays a visit.
Anyway, have a Merry Christmas & try to have a Happy Year given the circumstances we are all facing atm with this global pandemic & the Willy waving in various parts of the world at the moment.
As for next yr, looks like to be another crazy yr for a lot of people so stay safe.
As for me at the moment, we are having a wet Christmas which is nothing unusual for this time of the year up in the Nth’ern NT with a hint of a possible cyclone forming on the 27th. So that means more reading, more model Ship Building & listening to the Summer of Cricket on the Radio.
Going to have a Cat1 Cyclone around Boxing Day & on its current track going over Dundee Beach where we have a our Crib/ Bach. The Crib/ Bach is 20km from the beach itself.
Your low / cyclone is heading our way overland next week (Sandy Strait, Queensland). We have had 2 cyclones in the NT, 1 in Thursday Island, 3 in PNG, all while on a small yacht. Mind you, hanging on for dear life at the end of an anchor chain in Coromandel harbour and the bottom end of Waiheke in over 50 knots was no fun, either!
Sitting on the mud by the ferry wharf in Tryphena some years ago, watching all the keel boats doing 45 degree rolls and dragging anchors in the middle.
70 knots on the radio now-casting from the light houses.
What's that German word for delighting in others misfortunes? It covers much more meaning than the available English words.
My wife reckons Tryphena in a raging south westerly was one of our worst ever anchorages, but we didn't drag, just no sleep all night! Lovely sunny calm next day as we motor sailed across Colville Channel towards the Mercuries accompanied by friendly common dolphins.The best thing about NZ bad weather is that it is usually over quite quickly. A cyclone we sheltered from in PNG's Milne Bay (taught there for a few years) lasted several days and we had to wear buckets on our heads if we ventured ashore to protect ourselves from coconuts!
This will be our 2nd Cyclone, the last one was Trevor a few yrs back & that was a Cat1 when we were still living in Darwin’s Nth Suburbs when I was still in the RAAF prior to my Med Discharge.
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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 The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
https://i.imgur.com/4Nrh1PN.gif
Streamside at night was magical … until they replaced the sodium security lights with bright white ones…
I hate Pukekos, bloody nasty little birds if you ask me. I remember one dark, dank, and foggy late winter or early spring morning at the Unitec campus happening upon a mother duck desperately guarding her posse of a dozen or so ducklings and trying to fight off the depredations of 3-4 Pukekos who were attempting to pick off her ducklings; I immediately dismounted my bike, armed myself with some stones and after scoring a direct hit on the most aggressive Pukeko mother duck and I escorted her fluffy charges safely to the waters edge.
Not today, not on my watch you shi*t head Pukekos!!
I was also 45 minutes late for work, but nobody minded when I informed them of the nobility of my mission.
Tut tut! Nonviolent diplomacy ought to be tried first. You could have just told the aussie invaders to go back home.
Sometimes, violence IS the answer.
Yes, sadly some – particularly male – pukekos will kill ducklings. I managed to talk Bluey out of doing so once by yelling out “Bluey! No!” when he was about to go after a lone duckling caught up in a fast flowing section of the stream & drifting downstream. He stopped immediately (to my surprise & gratitude) & went back to foraging for grass seeds & roots.
My last Pook Family learned the meaning of “No!” when I had to teach them that trimming the grass on my back lawn was ok, but pulling it out to eat the roots was NOT. I achieved that by yelling “No! No pulling out grass!” & dashing up to them going apeshit until they figured it out.
Some mallard drakes will attack & kill pooklets too. Instinct I guess. They must “know” they represent a future threat to their ducklings.
Nature’s pretty raw sometimes. But look at the horrendous things some human apes do to other human apes & to other creatures. They’re the worst because they should know better.
And they stole almost every persimmon I ever grew before they were even half ripe. Pulled out every oi oi from the wetlands I planted and ever other wet land species. Subsequently found out that I could get a special licence to shoot them. But by then it was too late.
David Williams, Newsroom's environment editor, South Island correspondent & investigative journalist, does a forensic analysis of how bureaucrats turn science into mush: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/emails-expose-councils-clash-with-scientist
You can imagine the horror of bureaucrats when receiving this. Scientists expecting a job to be done properly are like vermin. They must be eradicated!
The intrepid reporter exposes how the bureaucrats went about the process of achieving eradication, in the guise of a search for consensus.
Well of course. No point hiring bureaucrats unless they hide scientific discoveries from the public!
I presume there was a clause in his employment contract that was designed to authorise the bureaucrats to impose secrecy to prevent the public learning about the scientist's discoveries. It's how National & Labour have operated most of my life since I first noticed their behavioural pattern half a century ago. They cite a principle of transparent governance to deceive the public, while ensuring bureaucrats ignore it.
Classic
Once again consensus by bureaucrats rather than hard and fast science, and consensus reached for the purpose of public messaging
Reminds of the OPCW farce
Murupara is in the news.
Doctor challenges seizure of ivermectin, the unapproved Covid-19 drug he imported for patients
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127360835/doctor-challenges-seizure-of-ivermectin-the-unapproved-covid19-drug-he-imported-for-patients
Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Two cases in Murupara
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-delta-outbreak-two-cases-in-murupara/FIOMOSAS2UPOPL35EBXMZIV55M/
Another man in the news today should go to Murupara and chat with the locals.
"Having the virus felt "suffocating", as if he had a tonne of bricks on his chest.
"It's like trying to breathe through a straw while drowning," he said.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-it-is-real-mans-message-after-battling-virus-in-hospital/XLQGEBZJDNXYVPNZ4IPIG25YZM/
Let's face it, most GP's out in rural areas arent exactly the best and brightest of the medical profession.
Anyway, enjoy your holidays, Standard-posters and look forward to reading more of your thoughts in 2022. Even if they are getting more and more right wing and transphobic.
That Ad needs to stand for office though.
I have to disagree Millsy! Our GP and Nurse Practitioner are a fantastic asset to our rural community, always smiling, approachable and quick to refer on to a specialist if needed. We were one of the first small communities to hold vaccination clinics for all back in May. We are very lucky to have them.
Let's face it, most GP's out in rural areas arent exactly the best and brightest of the medical profession.
Quite the contrary – in my experience medical care in our smaller provincial towns is very good. Often the GP's are people who prefer working where they have a bit more autonomy and the opportunity to get to know their patients better.
Their biggest problem is often they’re overloaded and struggle to find locums to cover for when they need a break.
He was my dr for a time ,I recall him being good,
Although I was yakking to a gp the other day and he said rural drs always are one of the three m's, mercenary, mad or messiahs. I'm picking conlin might be a touch of the last 2.
From that Stuff article:
The drug is used to de-worm livestock and to treat a very limited number of parasitic diseases in humans, but the Ministry of Health has warned it could cause serious harm if used to treat or prevent Covid-19.
Whether IVM works or not is irrelevant to the point – telling us that it's a horse de-wormer and very dangerous for humans is a flat out lie.
A bit like saying penicillin is used in pigs.
I really do wish I could believe a "day of reckoning" would arrive for all these bastards that have knowingly spun false shit around off-label use of existing medication and for all those who deliberately and cynically set up studies in such a way as to fail.
But there will just be a "sidling away" from it all, facilitated as much as anything else, by the swathes of faceless fear monkeys who won't want to face up to having been gullible chumps.
What if it turns out there is a patent on the crucial COVID furin cleavage site dating to 2015?
Day of reckoning do you think?
Mostly I don't really care where Covid came from (whether it was engineered or of natural origin).
I think trust in society's traditional institutions is going straight down the toilet and racing around that U bend though.
I really do wish I could believe a "day of reckoning" would arrive for all these bastards that have knowingly spun false shit around off-label use of existing medication and for all those who deliberately and cynically set up studies in such a way as to fail.
Glasses of ginger beer were clinked as part of an impromptu gathering of a few mates this afternoon here in Jacinda's Naughty Corner, the Far Far North. Ivermectin, and other familiar therapeutics now non grata in this weird Covid world were mentioned. Other stuff too. We have a community, already resilient. We exchange homegrown food, fish, meat and ideas.
Oh, and interesting tidbits that pop up on the interweb.
Despite so many other peer reviewed papers from doctors and scientists non grata being disappeared down the memory hole, this little gem persists.
Why are we vaccinating children against COVID-19?
Abstract
This article examines issues related to COVID-19 inoculations for children. The bulk of the official COVID-19-attributed deaths per capita occur in the elderly with high comorbidities, and the COVID-19 attributed deaths per capita are negligible in children. The bulk of the normalized post-inoculation deaths also occur in the elderly with high comorbidities, while the normalized post-inoculation deaths are small, but not negligible, in children. Clinical trials for these inoculations were very short-term (a few months), had samples not representative of the total population, and for adolescents/children, had poor predictive power because of their small size. Further, the clinical trials did not address changes in biomarkers that could serve as early warning indicators of elevated predisposition to serious diseases. Most importantly, the clinical trials did not address long-term effects that, if serious, would be borne by children/adolescents for potentially decades.
And it's in- depth, well referenced, peer reviewed, published and everything.
Enjoy.
Because having their parents, or grandparents sick, unable to work or care for them, or dead, is not! "detrimental to children"?
Really? This again!? Talk about undermining faith in human nature. Just awful.
Even Trump, when laid low with COVID, didn't take ivermectin, although he did have some bright ideas about light and bleach as anti-COVID treatments.
On ther other hand, Bolsonaro thinks using ivermectin as part of a COVID-19-treatment regime is a good idea – go figure.
Ivermectin is not an anti-viral medication.
Actually it is.
And every time I read someone telling me how dangerous IVM is I know they are bullshitting. This is a drug that has been used for decades, with a remarkably good safety record over billions of human doses – and these bastards just lie about it.
So anything else you might want to quote from them at effusive length is rejected as untrustworthy.
Bullshit. From the abstract of your June 2020 "Actually it is" link.
Ivermectin has antiviral effects – the efficacy of these antiviral effects in clinical settings, e.g. the efficacy of ivermectin as an anti-COVID-19 medication, is unknown, although the few robust trials conducted to date suggest that using ivermectin to combat COVID-19 is at best a waste of time and other resources.
Continuing to promote ivermectin as an anti-COVID-19 treatment is irresponsible, imho. Lest we forget, in October 2020 RL asserted (of the COVID-19 pandemic) "It's over" (and that's a revealing thread, particularly with the benefit of hindsight) – at least 3 times. I doubt the reliability of many of RL's pandemic reckons, but everyone can decide for themselves.
I still stand by that statement in October 2020. At that point in time we knew enough to end the original pandemic if we had acted decisively – well before all the inevitable variants arose.
And there is indeed plenty of positive IVM clinical evidence undertaken by people who actually have to treat COVID afflicted patients that when combined using metastudies clearly show something useful is happening. My position has been that it's a remarkably safe, cheap drug that if individuals or their clinician's want to use – there should be no objection.
Instead what we got was an irrational, blatantly idiotic fearmongering campaign from Big Pharma and it's shills like you that it was 'too dangerous' to use 'off label' for COVID. We've seen numerous serious academics have their work on this topic refused or prevented from being published, we've seen governments block it's use without any reasonable explanation.
At the same time your reliance on a small number of failed RCT trials to rest your argument on is highly selective. As I've pointed out in the past RCT trials are only one small part of how medical research progresses and not even the most important or conclusive part.
I don't doubt it – that's why I've taken each of your subsequent pandemic reckons with a grain of salt.
Btw – what am I a shill for (consensus expert opinion maybe?), and what might be motivating that supposed shilling?
Whereas what motivates your shilling for ivermectin and other unproven treatments is crystal clear – "It's over." Except it wasn't over, and it ain't over, although the recent decrease in the number of tragic daily COVID-19 deaths (back to October 2020 levels) is a promising trend – I wonder if Omicron and vaccines might be having an effect.
Except it wasn't over, and it ain't over,
No. Because frankly there were too many people invested in it not being over. The moral power that COVID had gifted them was too useful to them.
Whereas what motivates your shilling for ivermectin and other unproven treatments is crystal clear
Nowhere have I stated that IVM is either proven nor should be used in preference to any other treatment. Putting words into my mouth – contemptible no?
If, in your mind, this allows you cling to your "it’s over" fantasy, then by all means keep telling yourself that's the reason; that these "too many people" somehow controlled and continue to control how this on-going pandemic is unfolding.
I wish it had never happened every day, but that's not working either.
Yep – shills are contemptible, imho. I believe you’re on record here as having purchased a stock of ivermectin.
You have 30 minutes to find 3 examples of where I actively and directly recommended IVM on this site as a proven treatment for COVID. Or a retraction.
Just as a clue my consistent approach is typified here:
So I have 30 minutes! Firm but fair
Happy to retract the claim that you (RL) "actively and directly recommended IVM on this site as a proven treatment for COVID", were it not for the fact that I made no such claim.
You know this. That you would fabricate this falsehood is as disappointing as it is unsurprising – for the record, I completely reject your inappropriate efforts to bully me by putting words in my mouth.
I will retract any of my quoted words that you can show are false, because I'm comfortable with admitting my mistakes. For the record, my "shilling for ivermectin" jibe was motivated by your misplaced claim (@10:09 pm) that I'm a shill for Big Pharma, and (somehow) involved in “an irrational, blatantly idiotic fearmongering campaign“. Wow!
And, for the record (again), I'm well aware of some of the defects in Big Pharma's business and R&D models – even highlighted a few.
RL, it's my belief that your evident enthusiasm for putative anti-COVID treatments that have either not been approved or are (in the case of ivermectin) actively discouraged by drug and medicine regulatory authorities, is related to your October 2020 assertions that the pandemic was over. I might be wrong – but I have a sense that individuals who are used to getting their own way will naturally prefer to talk down the seriousness of the pandemic, and claim that vitamin D or other treatments can end the pandemic ("It's over"), because when "It's over" the public health constraints on freedom of choice and action will return to their 'normal' settings (BAU). And yes, those constraints are more challenging to some than others.
I believe (with a high degree of certainty) that claims the pandemic was or indeed is over are false, and (with a moderate degree of certainty) that claims ivermectin is an effective medical treatment for COVID-19 infections in humans are (according to currently available scientific evidence) also false.
Further (and I've said this before), I believe that such claims are at least potentially injurious to public health, in that they clearly (imho) undermine public health system efforts to protect populations from injury and/or death during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I regret that you find my opposition to some of your beliefs relating to the pandemic challenging, but I'll continue to do what I can (stating my beliefs), while I still can. Having said that, I'll refrain from reading your comments for the next 10 days so as to avoid the temptation to reply.
Very careful and knowledgeable opinion piece in the Herald from the pathologist who performed the autopsy on the Dunedin man who died of myocarditis after being vaccinated.
Conclusion: risk of dying from myocarditis after Covid-19 infection is 100 times higher than from myocarditis after vaccination.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dr-noelyn-hung-data-indicates-covid-100-times-riskier-than-jab/IZX4DLSHRCMVPKCEQHBU4D6MWE/
" Mandated counselling by vaccinators would seem appropriate. It would also seem prudent to bring back the old-fashioned method of a millisecond aspiration just before injection, to check for an intravascular position of the needle, because the mRNA vaccine caused a myocarditis event in mice injected intravascularly (instead of intramuscularly)."
Thanks for that excellent link, Matiri.
Yes, I was about to post that section given recent discussions here.
I was also very interested in the widespread occurrence of myocarditis resulting from all manner of conditions. I think, when people compare Covid with the flu, saying, "it's no worse", they are vastly underestimating the flu.
Myocarditis is extremely common.
So much so, that there is often difficulty in ascribing a particular cause.
Aspirating, which we were taught to do also, seems like a simple precaution, however.
Myocarditis – Wikipedia
“While many causes of myocarditis are known, there are many cases in which a causative agent cannot be identified”.
“In young adults, up to 20% of all cases of sudden death are due to myocarditis”.
From the previous discussions, the downside of aspiration is increased pain. Which makes me wonder if the non-aspiration is about lowering the pain and thereby lowering the hesitancy of folks who are afraid of needles, that sort of thing.
Just a thought.
UK heart doc on risk.
https://twitter.com/YorkCardiology/status/1457709691564433412
https://drsanjayguptacardiologist.com/
Great link Matiri .
At last!
Good news about Omicron, consistent with what I have been saying on a previous thread:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/23/hospital-admission-risk-up-to-70-less-with-omicron-than-delta-ukhsa-finds
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/8192190/scotland-omicron-wave-hurricane-storm/
Even though Omicron is very infectious, it also seems that it burns out really quickly as well:
https://www.newsweek.com/south-africas-recent-covid-decline-signals-possible-short-wave-omicron-1662164
So, I think we should take this opportunity to strengthen our vaccine and response readiness as much as possible. Omicron will get here soon enough, and hopefully it will be a mostly benign disease that allows us all to build up some natural immunity to more harmful Covid varieties.
The similar study released a couple of days ago from Imperial College included vaccination status when comparing omicron and delta. The reduction in hospitalisation omicron vs delta was much greater in vaccinated people. Unvaccinated people only had an 11% reduction in hospitalisation.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/22/risk-of-hospital-stay-40-lower-with-omicron-than-delta-uk-data-suggests
Yes, I know. But in an earlier report they said there was no reduction in harm at all. So sounding like a slow backpedal on their part.
We have the benefit of observing what actually will happen. If the scenario is an optimistic one, then should give us some peace of mind here.
some of what is being reported is preprints and not peer reviewed. I expect mistakes are made and that interpretations of data evolve over time. Things are changing rapidly too
Lets hope all this is true…8,674 cases in Oz today.
Peter Davis putting it all in perspective.
https://socialeurope.eu/the-virus-antidote-political-leadership-progressive-government-public-services
Yes, I know who he is married to, but that doesn’t discount the analysis.
Thanks for that link, Stephen, and amen to this:
Agreed, let us hope people support the necessary actions.
Peter sums it up nicely.
Peter has a very selective memory of course.
He says " Hence the re-election in 2020 of the NZLP with a majority of the popular vote—a feat only matched in the depths of the Great Depression, with the election of the first Labour government."
In fact in 2020 the Labour Party scraped in with a majority only if you ignore the invalid and disallowed votes. They got 50.01%. Counting all the votes cast reduces it to 49.45%. In 1935 the Labour Party were nowhere near 50%. They got only 47.23%
The only party that topped the 50% number was National in 1951 when they got a massive 53.99%. I wonder why Peter chose to ignore that election? It certainly makes one doubt the accuracy of his other claims.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_New_Zealand_general_election#Detailed_results
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935_New_Zealand_general_election
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951_New_Zealand_general_election#Votes_summary
I'm not entirely sure one should not count invalid votes in this calculation. Some of them are certainly protest votes and probably should be counted. I know one person who votes by writing across the paper. "NONE OF THE SWINE" and then puts it in the box. At least that is what he tells me he does. He says he never got over his anarchist days at University.
Labour's peak wasn't 1935. It was 1938 – when it hit 56%.
Labour also got a majority of the vote in 1946, whereas National managed it in 1949 as well as 1951.
I should perhaps mention 1938 when Labour got 55.8% That was not of course "the election of the first Labour government" but the re-election. If Peter can entirely forget 1951 he could easily confuse 1938 and 1935.
edit. I see DS got in while I was typing this. Quite right. I was doing this form memory and hadn’t considered 46 and 49.
A welcome reminder that public pressure can make a difference:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/otago/127379276/early-christmas-gift-for-santos-family-as-immigration-nz-has-change-of-heart-over-deportation
Good.
"Immigration Minister Phil Twyford called Santos’ lawyer, Marricel Weischede, to confirm Santos had been given a character waiver, overriding the court order to be deported."
I thought Kris Faafoi was Immigration Minister?
Twyford is the Associate Minister. This is a very unusual action. Normally the Minister announces all the good things and the Associated Minister gets assigned the rubbish things the Minister wants to keep clear of.
Actually this really is a Christmas Miracle. It is the first thing in the four years Phil has been in the Cabinet that he has done something right.
Appears to be covered by his responsibilities….
Roles/Responsibilities
Residence appeals referred by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal for consideration of the grant of residence as exceptions to government residence instructions;
Requests for exceptions to government residence instructions;
Requests for special directions;
Requests to reconsider temporary entry class visa applications;
Requests for visas under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009 from people who are not entitled to apply for a visa because they are in New Zealand unlawfully;
Reconsideration of cases after court action.
You will see that these are all things that can get a Minister into trouble. After this was the thing that got Lees-Galloway into trouble when he allowed Sroubek, who had imported drugs, permanent residency.
Giving them to an Associate Minister gets the things that can cause a Minister real trouble out of the Minister's hair without actually releasing any power to the one in the Associate role. If a decision turns out to be wrong it is the person who made it who is left to struggle.
That was like John Ehrlichman's view of someone caught up in the Watergate affair. Of course in the end Ehrlichman was caught in the same way.
“Well, I think we ought to let him hang there,” Ehrlichman told Dean. “Let him twist slowly, twist slowly in the wind.”
Ah…Twyford is Associate Minister….didnt think Id heard Faafoi had been sacked or quit.
Can't see what's good about it.
Precedents like this make a mockery of the actual rules.
Bah, Humbug to you too Blazer.
Hi Grinch.
Well it’s that time of the year yet again, when the Jolly Red Man pays a visit.
Anyway, have a Merry Christmas & try to have a Happy Year given the circumstances we are all facing atm with this global pandemic & the Willy waving in various parts of the world at the moment.
As for next yr, looks like to be another crazy yr for a lot of people so stay safe.
As for me at the moment, we are having a wet Christmas which is nothing unusual for this time of the year up in the Nth’ern NT with a hint of a possible cyclone forming on the 27th. So that means more reading, more model Ship Building & listening to the Summer of Cricket on the Radio.
Cheers,
Scud.
All the best to you too Scud and hope the cyclone fades away. Your holiday plans are sound either way 👍🌲
Sorry for the late reply,
Going to have a Cat1 Cyclone around Boxing Day & on its current track going over Dundee Beach where we have a our Crib/ Bach. The Crib/ Bach is 20km from the beach itself.
http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDD65001.png?1640371068542
Your low / cyclone is heading our way overland next week (Sandy Strait, Queensland). We have had 2 cyclones in the NT, 1 in Thursday Island, 3 in PNG, all while on a small yacht. Mind you, hanging on for dear life at the end of an anchor chain in Coromandel harbour and the bottom end of Waiheke in over 50 knots was no fun, either!
The avantages of a shallow draft boat.
Sitting on the mud by the ferry wharf in Tryphena some years ago, watching all the keel boats doing 45 degree rolls and dragging anchors in the middle.
70 knots on the radio now-casting from the light houses.
What's that German word for delighting in others misfortunes? It covers much more meaning than the available English words.
My wife reckons Tryphena in a raging south westerly was one of our worst ever anchorages, but we didn't drag, just no sleep all night! Lovely sunny calm next day as we motor sailed across Colville Channel towards the Mercuries accompanied by friendly common dolphins.The best thing about NZ bad weather is that it is usually over quite quickly. A cyclone we sheltered from in PNG's Milne Bay (taught there for a few years) lasted several days and we had to wear buckets on our heads if we ventured ashore to protect ourselves from coconuts!
schadenfreude.
This will be our 2nd Cyclone, the last one was Trevor a few yrs back & that was a Cat1 when we were still living in Darwin’s Nth Suburbs when I was still in the RAAF prior to my Med Discharge.