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.
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
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 ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, 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 up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
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.