Good quality info from Chris Martenson on the Coronavirus…time to be alert and aware and start making basic preps (collect any prescription meds you may need, add a bit of extra rice/tuna/long term vege type things/seeds to sprouts to the shopping(. To understand that please watch this video where Chris breaks down what is actually happening.
Most importantly note the 5 day latency period…so those boarder checks for high temperatures are pointless….those who have contracted it are already contagious but will not show any symptoms.
Who is Martenson and why should we trust him? I'm asking because I'm researching for a post on nCoV and seeing a massive amount of information that is imo untrustworthy. Social media at its worst.
Conclusion: The mean estimate of R0 for the 2019-nCoV ranges from 3.30 (95%CI: 2.73-3.96) to 5.47 (95%CI: 4.16-7.10), and significantly larger than 1. Our findings indicate the potential of 2019-nCoV to cause outbreaks.
It has a fat tail,hence as more data and mortality becomes apparent the infection rate increases. This is an increase on the model used yesterday but both are dynamic.The obvious apparent problem would be downplaying of statistics by PRC.
All the world needed right now is for Trump to get extraordinarily lucky.
A major disease outbreak is about as good an extended metaphor as one could wish for to explain the rise of Donald Trump against the Democrats.
The U.S. Constitution is supposed to be the built-in hygiene mechanism that controls the level of filth that rise through democratic contest. The Democrats have faithfully used the United States Constitution to hold this damaging President to account. They assemble all the evidence into a good case, orchestrate the media into a fully focused antiseptic froth, get ready to take a few further points off his popularity and electability …
.. and then there's a massive disease outbreak in China that obliterates the careful media messaging. Donald Trump is given a most massive gift by fate.
He told us China was the enemy. He told us we had to put up barriers against them. He told us that even against China he would Make America Great Again … because this foreign eastern behemoth was a disease to protect us from.
Whether true or not, the Chinese government can be framed up as lying, corrupt, incompetent, and unable to control the infectious idea of Being Chinese. They've got perhaps just the next 24 hours to prove him wrong.
Trump will come out of this not only unbowed and unpunished, but vindicated.
It won't win him the election, but it will underline that he was right all along: globalism and multiculturalism are disease vectors of cultural, ethnic, and economic weakness. They shall not pass.
The effects of this Chinese infection will both blunt and reverse the Democratic effort to hold him to account through Constitutional means. It may even help re-elect him.
It is the biggest piece of luck I've seen in modern political history.
People who are more avoidant of pathogens are more politically conservative, as are nations with greater parasite stress. In the current research, we test two prominent hypotheses that have been proposed as explanations for these relationships. The first, which is an intragroup account, holds that these relationships between pathogens and politics are based on motivations to adhere to local norms, which are sometimes shaped by cultural evolution to have pathogen-neutralizing properties. The second, which is an intergroup account, holds that these same relationships are based on motivations to avoid contact with outgroups, who might pose greater infectious disease threats than ingroup members. Results from a study surveying 11,501 participants across 30 nations are more consistent with the intragroup account than with the intergroup account. National parasite stress relates to traditionalism (an aspect of conservatism especially related to adherence to group norms) but not to social dominance orientation (SDO; an aspect of conservatism especially related to endorsements of intergroup barriers and negativity toward ethnic and racial outgroups). Further, individual differences in pathogen-avoidance motives (i.e., disgust sensitivity) relate more strongly to traditionalism than to SDO within the 30 nations.
Or put in simple terms, countries where there is a high disease and parasite load push the population toward more conservative, closed attitudes. It's an entirely legitimate survival strategy. Disgust sensitivity is tied into this as well. (Interestingly the Nazi's are well understood to have exploited this in their imagery, describing Jews in pathological or parasitic terms.)
But in essence you are right, disease is our ancient enemy and it evokes strong emotions that won't make for rational politics.
Well, somebody has to cut the Gordian knot to end the gridlock. Whether this creates a precedent (i.e. opens the proverbial can of worms) remains to be seen. Future Governments have no real (legal) obligation AFAIK to follow in the footsteps of the current Government.
attacking the messenger – not the story. How typical.
How about trying to discuss the point. Like $45million of taxpayer money going to fletchers – and jacinda opening up the issue of maori claims on private land
If that is your solution, then it shows you are probably unaware of the back history to this land. Including recent promises by Manukau District Council that were supposed to be part of the legacy package to Auckland Council. Also, the use of SHA legislation to bypass any reference to historical or tangata whenua concerns.
What has happened is a foreseeable and rational response to the failures of authorities at both local and national levels to follow procedures set in place to avoid this kind of conflict. (The land has significantly increased in value because of the SHA zoning to residential. A benefit gained solely by the landowner, by a designation change from council and not shared in any way by the community. A failure to implement a capital-uplift tax by Auckland Council.)
Good post Molly. In the current environment of pretty poor reporting it has been lost that the SHAs set up by Nick Smith overrode many concerns about the development of that land.
Particularly dense people who look to Duncan Garner for their opinions will actively ignore the recent and not so recent history of the place if it serves to bash Maori protestors.
The same people are incapable of realising the historical value of such areas, largely because it is not white historical value.
To me, the current government buying the land off Feltchers is the price to pay for the last government’s naked recolonisation of Ihumatao.
I would Have had the protesters moved off the land legally sold to fletchers.
if they didn’t go – arrest them.
That'll work! That'll really work! After all, who remembers Parihaka or Bastion Point these days? Hardly anyone who isn't Māori, right? If only the current government's leadership had James' wisdom and previous governments' disdain for Māori, this could all have been sorted very easily…
Attacking the messenger??? More like a disingenuous message that needs to be dispelled. How about the line that Fletcher's had the taxpayers over a barrel and did what predators do? It would have been more helpful if the history, reasons and motivations behind the Ihumatao resolution had been explored buy someone with investigative and reporting skills. This would have been more appropriate than a political hit-job by a foam-mouthed, self-opinionated lightweight.
I am just glad that we have a government with the ethics and courage to right this wrong. Talk of 'taxpayers money' is very immature – the government is buying back what it stole. Not only did it steal the land it sold it to private interests so the debt is theirs to repay. Fletchers seem to have behaved with integrity and have probably spent a lot negotiating this issue. Add that to the increase in the value of the land over the 4 years that they have owned it and what they are being offered is probably fair.
Personally I think this settlement was a reasonable compromise in this specific case. But the word 'stole' could have a very flexible meaning; there are plenty of people who'd cheerfully stretch it out to cover the whole of NZ.
Not all – some land was sold and some given. This agreement does open up new possibilities for negotiation and having now the possibilities of a 'case by case' scenario is going to make it a lot more complicated but fairer.
If the messenger's an ignorant, racist blowhard peddling misinformation with a poisonous agenda, attacking the messenger sounds entirely reasonable. More to the point would be, how much of a sucker would someone have to be to lend credence to Duncan Garner's messages.
Certainly not, especially while overlooking the fact that his contemplation of this (oh shit, I looked it up again and he actually called it "a nightmarish glimpse into our future") took place in an aussie-owned store with a US brand.
After all, he explicitly said that nothing in his column was intended to be racist. So that's alright, then.
A minority of the Press Council only thought his expressed views had an "unpleasant "dogwhistle" odour" but were not racist in a way that broke the rules, so yes you must be right.
Too many assumptions there, numpty. Actually had a great luncheon with friends. And Jimmy's comment was at 5 pm. Your day on the water started then, did it? Try harder.
[It was just a matter of time before someone would cross the line and resort to stupid insults aimed at James. Like it or leave it, James is free to comment here as long as he adheres to the site’s policy and rules. Please don’t do this (again) or next time you throw insults at him for no direct reason you will be receiving gardening leave – Incognito]
As it turns out, you also have a bit of history here with flaming and insults. Coincidentally, your last ban (last year, 3 days only) was for insulting James!
As I said, like it or leave it, but please stop wasting my time. Thanks in advance.
The one you mentioned which was in fact because of impudence shown towards a moderator (trivialising Weka's authority rather than insulting James), and another by Weka for directly questioning James' sincerity on the case of the man who set himself on fire before parliament.
I guess the price of having a forum that is not an echo chamber is the moderators must protect stirrers in your words, or trolls in mine.
[please correct the error in your user handle; it has happened twice now. Thanks]
You have had more than two bans here and quite a few moderator warnings.
Given your recalcitrant behaviour, I think that is low.
I am calling you out on your insulting behaviour and I am not protecting anybody. Moderators are not bodyguards but more like cleaners who clear up the mess made and left behind by others on this site.
Like it or leave it; this is my final word on this and I kindly suggest taking heed.
Take it up with the SYSOP. Most seem to manage here most of the time but the mistake you made is quite common and often goes unnoticed for a (little) while, which wastes Moderator time.
You have had more than two bans here and quite a few moderator warnings.
Given your recalcitrant behaviour, I think that is low.
I am calling you out on your insulting behaviour and I am not protecting anybody. Moderators are not bodyguards but more like cleaners who clear up the mess made and left behind by others on this site.
Like it or leave it; this is my final word on this and I kindly suggest taking heed.
I think I've had two bans.
So I have a problem with authority. What is a simple activist to do? Lie down and take it, I suppose? Where on earth would that end, George Orwell?
You can either accept my contribution to The Standard, or not. I think I make a decent effort in most of my comments but am called out on a few and that seems to define me according to yourself and Weka.
I'll work hard to conform to your definition of “smart-arse reply” which you seem to accept, and stick to that.
This grovelling approach works for some – I might try it! 😀
Your “grovelling approach works” but only just because it’s a lovely morning and I had a decent sleep last night.
You’ve had more than two bans but this is not important (I can provide the links, with time-stamps for your personal archive or trophy cabinet, but why waste more time on this?).
You have an occasional problem with your attitude and language when you resort to flaming and insulting, which has led to moderation and a few (>2) bans.
You also seem to have a problem with listening, simple explanations, simple instructions, and following clear and simple rules. I’d use a different word for that than “activist” and “recalcitrant” was possibly too mild.
Whether you continue making valuable contributions here or smart arse replies is neither here nor there for me. It’s up to commenters to make this a better site or turn it into sandpit full of petulant smart arses or foul-mouthed morons. The choice is yours; like it or leave it.
It's a WordPress thing I think where a mistake in the username is repeated ad infinitum.
A few months back I had a plugin in FF that screwed with any website that needed a form, even though it did what it was supposed to do (text substitution).
Additionally some browsers on some operating systems can be tempramental.
Newer browsers often have a "safe" mode, where all plugins or add-ons are disabled. Try TS in safe mode, and if it works then some plugin is arguing with your browser.
The initial comment @ 4 was about a potentially imminent breakthrough in the Ihumātao dispute.
I think it is worth noting that many comments in this thread did not discuss the topic at all but were diversions about Duncan Garner being an alleged racist, about James, about the flag referendum and other unrelated and thus irrelevant things.
Inevitably, it ended up with blatant insults with no constructive content whatsoever and almost led to a ban 🙁
Somehow I can't get terribly worked up about that virus outbreak. Its place of origin is one that winks at the sort of unhygenic practices around rearing animals, and selling them or their products, that we outlawed decades ago. They're reaping what they've sown. Yes, there might be a few deaths here to begin with, but we'll contain the spread all right.
Orwell wrote his best-known novel in 1948. Thirty-six years later, That Date actually arrived, but seemingly not its accompanying dystopia. The seeds, however, were already being sown. On by a similar length of time, and we arrive at the present day, where those seeds have germinated and are growing fast.
It's my wild-arsed guess there is a 90% chance this new bug will mutate into something less dangerous fairly quickly. However there is a small but non-zero chance it could go badly pear shaped like the 1918 Spanish Flu.
It's the Chinese Medical authorities, WHO and CDC who will do all the heavy lifting here. If Angola can contain Ebola, there is every chance China will get on top of this.
But in a weeks time we'll know more about this virus, it's incubation time, it's infectivity and it's lethality. In the meantime don't get worked up, but don't ignore basic precautions either.
Hope so. In 1918 we didn't have gene sequencing to identify exactly where it came from, either the Krait or Chinese Cobra apparently,and effective isolation and containment systems and back then it was some months before they even knew there was a problem.
A mate who has visited the sort of food market to the Wuhan one has said the bloody places are unbelievable, they have no place in the 21st century.
here is a list of ecoli break outs in the western world due to lax business rules – i.e. self certifying. Just in case you like your romaine and lettuce and ground beef.
Funnily enough, i have always eaten in food courts in asia when i travel and i never even had as much as a stomach bugling, however friends of mine who insisted in MacDo and the likes often came down with the runs. Go figure.
Funny that. I reckon it sometimes may be just a change in the ecology in the gut, or something similar. About a month ago I spent time both in Japan and Thailand. In Thailand I ate from street vendors, in dirt floor restaurants with no running water, and other meals from questionable sources. Not a problem except for tender tushie from all the chili-laced meals I scarfed.
Japan was great, but I did have one afternoon with a case of runny bum.
The point is that even in ultra-hygeinic locations one can get a tummy rumbler. Although, to be honest getting a case of the Aztec Two-step is more likely in the less developed more free wheeling regions. Sometimes it's just luck.
If I understood the news correctly this morning, the Chinese have warned that the infectious period starts 2 weeks before any symptoms show in the infectious person.
If this is true, I think it is the first time we have struck such a virus, and with two weeks before the infectious person can be detected, we have absolutely no hope of stopping the spread.
But – the second part is better: the virus causes fewer deaths proportionately than SARS did, and as viruses get better at spreading they tend to get milder in effect.
So a pandemic will mean quite a lot of us will recover from an annoying mild pneumonia, but there will not be billions of dead.
But did I hear that news correctly, and is the report true?
Not to mention it got called "Spanish Flu" because the Spaniards were neutral and none of the warring nations wanted to disclose how many of their troops were ill.
So they knew they had a problem, but it was a military secret and then everyone got shipped home around the world…
and then there is the sars research at the wuhan bio research facility.
But worries surround the Chinese lab, too. The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times, notes Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Tim Trevan, founder of CHROME Biosafety and Biosecurity Consulting in Damascus, Maryland, says that an open culture is important to keeping BSL-4 labs safe, and he questions how easy this will be in China, where society emphasizes hierarchy. “Diversity of viewpoint, flat structures where everyone feels free to speak up and openness of information are important,” he says.
Yes I've witnessed that extreme authoritarian hierarchy in action in the workplace. It's quite spooky when you first see it, for a few moments I felt I'd been transported to a Nazi concentration camp movie.
Maybe that's why I'm so much less sanguine about the CCP's regime than Ad is.
Some background on Bernie Sanders and what he has achieved in Burlington Vermont.
" One of his main goals was to rein in real estate speculation and gentrification, to keep the tenants in their homes. In 1984, he established the Burlington Community Land Trust, which started buying and renovating rundown rental properties on the Old North End. The model was to rent them at fixed rates or sell them at low prices, while retaining ownership of the land and sharing in any value appreciation. Now called the Champlain Housing Trust, it is the largest such nonprofit in the nation and has 8% of the city’s housing units "
Not afraid too confront the issues in his home town.
"While he brought free public concerts to Battery Park on the bluff, Sanders also went on a campaign to stop noisy late-night college parties, even accompanying police to dress down the revelers "
Wait a minute, we are supposed to give this guy Presidential credibility because a trust he started three decades ago has been doing up a few houses in a town about the same size and global importance as Gisborne?
Donald Trump and his dad were doing that for about the same time and instead of a few hundred houses, have turned it into a world-conquering hotel and resort brand.
Seriously if real estate is touted as the killer move for Sanders, someone needs a strategy refresh.
Now called the Champlain Housing Trust, it is the largest such nonprofit in the nation and has 8% of the city’s housing units "
1. Burlington, Vermont Population 2019. Burlington, Vermont's estimated population is 42,899
2.The ethnic composition of the population of Burlington, VT is composed of 35.1k White Alone residents (82.7%), 2.65k Asian Alone residents (6.25%), 2.32k Black or African American Alone residents (5.47%), 1.21k Hispanic or Latino residents (2.86%), 964 Two or More Races residents (2.27%), 109 American Indian & Alaska
3. The Champlain Housing Trust, founded in 1984, is the largest community land trust in the country. Throughout Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, CHT manages 2,300 apartments, stewards 620 owner-occupied homes in its signature shared-equity program, offers homebuyer education and financial fitness counseling, provides services to five housing cooperatives, and offers affordable energy efficiency and rehab loans. In 2008, CHT won the prestigious United Nations World Habitat Award, recognizing its innovative, sustainable programs.
While a nice thing for the residence of the City of Burlington Vermont, its a sad indictment of the state of USA's housing policies.
At some point we're going to have to clear away this film-flam of the always-never-made-its and get to the main guy: What will Joe Biden Do as President?
it shows that a tiny wee little town has the largest housing charity.
that is the sadness about it all.
I don't know what Jo biden will do as president. Kidnap babies at the frontiers and then loose them in the system to god knows whom? Install a global gag rule on abortion, birth controll, and such to please forced birther crowd? Remove any and all regulations on the environment to drill baby drill and mine mine mine? Play golf every third day on the tax payers dime? Start world war three?
Honestly i have no fucking idea what Jo Biden would do, nor do i care.
But if this is an example of Bernie Sanders will do, then he will have put his name to a charity that has 2300 apartments under its umbrella and it stewards som 630 occupied owner houses, in a town of 43.000 people. And the sad thing about this charity is that it is the "Largest Charity of its kind in the US of A'. Go figure.
Meanwhile Here is what one editor of The Nation has to say on Elizabeth Warren:
Her opposition to Wall Street’s endless predations has also been consistent, courageous, and persuasive—and tied directly to her recognition that 40 years of growing income and wealth inequality won’t be reversed without the reregulation of finance. She has taken on not just bankers but also fellow Democrats, including Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, and, by implication, President Obama himself when he prioritized saving too-big-to-fail banks rather than stopping foreclosures on the homes of 10 million families. She played public and behind-the-scenes roles in crafting the still-unused powers of the Dodd-Frank Act to tame Wall Street and in creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Washington’s first new (and under the Democrats, demonstrably effective) regulator since the New Deal.
In her skill and dedication campaigning for other candidates; in doggedly shepherding tough, controversial bills through Congress; and in constructing a significant federal agency from scratch, Warren has demonstrated her ability to both win elections and govern.
“This poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Jan. 20–23 among a random national sample of 1,004 adults. It has a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points”:
Seems to depend how they ask the question: "The Suffolk poll showed nearly a quarter of Democratic primary voters, 24 percent, are undecided. But the WBUR survey, which included so-called “leaners” — voters who initially say they are undecided but, when asked, say they are leaning toward one candidate — pegged the “undecided” number at just 5 percent." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/23/sanders-polls-2020-103084
Definite age variation happening, and it's big: "Age has become one of the defining cleavages of the 2020 Democratic race. In the CNN/SSRS national poll — in which Sanders has a slim, 3-point lead over Biden overall — Sanders is the top choice of 39 percent of Democrats under the age of 45. That’s 21 points ahead of the next closest Democrat, Warren,another septuagenarian who appeals to younger voters."
"On the other side of the ledger, Sanders is the first choice of only 16 percent of Democrats 45 and older. His strength halves again, to 8 percent, among those 65 and older. Biden, meanwhile, wins 33 percent of 45-and-older Democrats, and 37 percent of the 65-plus set."
Those with a memory of how socialism operated tend to be biased against it. Those who like the aspirations in the mix tend to go for it…
Five-percent (5%) Biden supporters say they will not vote for someone else as the Democratic nominee, while 9% say it would depend on who the nominee is.
Among Sanders supporters, 16% will not vote for the nominee if Sanders doesn’t win, while 30% say it depends on the nominee.
No Warren supporters say they will definitely not vote for the nominee if she does not win the nomination, but 10% say it will depend on who the nominee is.
Forty-two percent (42%) of Yang supporters say they will not vote for anyone else as the Democratic nominee, while 9% say it depends on the nominee.
oh well. Its gonna be a shit show anyways. Why not start flinging it early?
Seems to be a link between perceptions a candidate is (or has been) discriminated against in the primary and support for an unknown candidate put forward by the democrats.
If these polls are indicative of couse than the rational choice is Bernie due to his supporters relative obstinance. Though I doubt US centrist pundits can draw the obvious conclusion.
19% of Bernie supporters stating that they will NOT support the democratic nominee is ……….(insert what ever suits you).
vs, no one from the warren supporters saying that they will NOT support the democratic nominee should she not get the tick.
should be real easy for bernie to pick up warren supporters should he get the tick, but should it not be bernie we can expect 19% of his supporters to vote for the incumbent or humpty dumpty.
Its gonna be a delightful shitshow just like the last time around. And we all know who won. So yeah, they better give it to bernie or else…..:)
It's revolting how some people treat animals. National MP barbara kuriger should be ashamed of her husband and her son. If she did nothing to prevent them from treating animals so cruelly, she should also be ashamed of herself. And to think she is their spokesperson for Rural Communities. Taranaki-King Country deserves better.
May the full arm of the law come down on them.
In total, 74 cows were treated for lameness and 25 were euthanised.
Infections in some cows were so severe they had spread to the joints, causing chronic septic arthritis.
Gibson estimated the cows were lame for up to two months before receiving treatment, but others could have been injured longer.
Veterinarians handed the Kurigers a plan to stop the injured cows from being milked. But, despite their injuries, many were still forced to endure the arduous walk to the dairy shed to be milked each day.
“They were supposed to be in the paddock where… grass is softer. All this is unnecessary pain the animal has to go through.”
According to court documents, when approached by officials, Tony Kuriger declined to be interviewed. Louis did not respond to requests for comment.
treating these cows would cut into the profit. And yes, she is the spokes person for 'rural communities' and it says a lot about The NoMates Party that would nominate someone like her to be a spokesperson for rural communities.
Hope the rural communties will wake up and tell her to get a job elsewhere.
I recall one of his amusing anecdotes from his early journalistic days. He was approached by the SIS who "wanted to talk to him". Curious to know what they wanted to talk to him about, he agreed to meet them. He was told to go to a Wellington hotel and knock on the door of Room 60. (I've forgotten the number so 60 will do.) He found Room 60 and knocked on the door. No reply. He was about to leave when a voice from behind said "come in". He swung around and a man was standing in the open door of the room on the opposite side.
I wondered how he managed to open the door and check it was McLaughlan without making a sound. Maybe there was a secret peep-hole in the door that only the SIS knew about. 👿 Whatever, McLauchlan wouldn't do what they wanted him to do.
Well, artifacts are constantly left and repeated in the username section which is, for some reason, not independent from the comments section.
Because I wanted the site to be as open as possible and because I didn't want to spend time endlessly fixing logins or dealing with robots, I disabled them back in about 2009. Instead I put in a system to allow anyone to leave comments and maintained the logins for authors, moderators and the lucky few who already had them.
However that meant that with every comment, the non-login author had to put put in their details on each comment – which slowed the commenting process. So I used cookies. Once you leave a comment on a particular browser on a particular system, I told your browser to remember those details on your client machine login, and to fill in the fields for you on that browser and machine whenever a comment was presented to fill in.
Works well until the details get mucked up at the client side. Typically when pasting into the wrong field, which causes the mistake to reproduced.
The issue seems to be that, of late, occasionally when I am merrily typing away in the comment box the cursor will flip to the name box without warning. I continue to type until I need to look at the screen again and find no words added to the comment box, but they have been added to the name box which I didn't think to check.
I then re-type what got 'lost' in the comment box and hit 'Submit Comment'. The comment then goes out with extra words added to my username in the name box.
Is it one of those laptops with a touchpad below the keyboard? I always switch that off if I have a corded mouse – my hands hovering over the touch pad sometimes tap it and send the cursor funny places.
ALTHOUGH:
a good trick in a shared office is to put a cordless mouse usb in the back of a colleagues machine. Then as they're typing away just randomly point and click from your desk. drives 'em crazy if you do it subtly enough 😉
McFlock is probably right. Mousepads are a nuisance when you're typing. Mine is turned off whenever I have a external keyboard/mouse talking to it. Which is most of the time.
I usually do have a wireless K750 keyboard + a MX Anywhere in my pack or where I work. I have 3 of them – work, home, and pack. Solar powered keyboards are *thin* – sneak in the pack very nicely.
Try the right side of the mouse pad. That is usually where they have the scroller option turned on. The option is often set to move fields when you use it vertically.
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Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
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 ...
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. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
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 ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
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. ...
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Good quality info from Chris Martenson on the Coronavirus…time to be alert and aware and start making basic preps (collect any prescription meds you may need, add a bit of extra rice/tuna/long term vege type things/seeds to sprouts to the shopping(. To understand that please watch this video where Chris breaks down what is actually happening.
Most importantly note the 5 day latency period…so those boarder checks for high temperatures are pointless….those who have contracted it are already contagious but will not show any symptoms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk5P_iRYwTY
Who is Martenson and why should we trust him? I'm asking because I'm researching for a post on nCoV and seeing a massive amount of information that is imo untrustworthy. Social media at its worst.
Conclusion: The mean estimate of R0 for the 2019-nCoV ranges from 3.30 (95%CI: 2.73-3.96) to 5.47 (95%CI: 4.16-7.10), and significantly larger than 1. Our findings indicate the potential of 2019-nCoV to cause outbreaks.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.23.916395v1
In simplistic words it has an infection rate 4-5x that of influenza.
How does that compare to your eyes with the scientific source reported in media yesterday (did not catch name) downgrading R0 to 2.5?
Trawling through this:
https://twitter.com/search?q=2019-nCov%20R0&src=typeahead_click
It has a fat tail,hence as more data and mortality becomes apparent the infection rate increases. This is an increase on the model used yesterday but both are dynamic.The obvious apparent problem would be downplaying of statistics by PRC.
Mortality rate seems untrustworthy, for sure.
Ah, here's what I saw:
https://twitter.com/JonRead15/status/1220749549318430721
Here is a paper on the risks associated with fat tails (on cv) and how standard decision making needs a little paranoia.
https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1221486205847646208/photo/1
Thank you.
All the world needed right now is for Trump to get extraordinarily lucky.
A major disease outbreak is about as good an extended metaphor as one could wish for to explain the rise of Donald Trump against the Democrats.
The U.S. Constitution is supposed to be the built-in hygiene mechanism that controls the level of filth that rise through democratic contest. The Democrats have faithfully used the United States Constitution to hold this damaging President to account. They assemble all the evidence into a good case, orchestrate the media into a fully focused antiseptic froth, get ready to take a few further points off his popularity and electability …
.. and then there's a massive disease outbreak in China that obliterates the careful media messaging. Donald Trump is given a most massive gift by fate.
He told us China was the enemy. He told us we had to put up barriers against them. He told us that even against China he would Make America Great Again … because this foreign eastern behemoth was a disease to protect us from.
Whether true or not, the Chinese government can be framed up as lying, corrupt, incompetent, and unable to control the infectious idea of Being Chinese. They've got perhaps just the next 24 hours to prove him wrong.
Trump will come out of this not only unbowed and unpunished, but vindicated.
It won't win him the election, but it will underline that he was right all along: globalism and multiculturalism are disease vectors of cultural, ethnic, and economic weakness. They shall not pass.
The effects of this Chinese infection will both blunt and reverse the Democratic effort to hold him to account through Constitutional means. It may even help re-elect him.
It is the biggest piece of luck I've seen in modern political history.
@ Ad
More work along the same theme from PNAS:
Or put in simple terms, countries where there is a high disease and parasite load push the population toward more conservative, closed attitudes. It's an entirely legitimate survival strategy. Disgust sensitivity is tied into this as well. (Interestingly the Nazi's are well understood to have exploited this in their imagery, describing Jews in pathological or parasitic terms.)
But in essence you are right, disease is our ancient enemy and it evokes strong emotions that won't make for rational politics.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/01/duncan-garner-ihumatao-deal-to-be-struck-this-week-sources.html
if this is the ihumatao deal – labour will pay for it in the polls.
Jacinda is opened a Pandora’s box with taxpayers money on this one.
Well, somebody has to cut the Gordian knot to end the gridlock. Whether this creates a precedent (i.e. opens the proverbial can of worms) remains to be seen. Future Governments have no real (legal) obligation AFAIK to follow in the footsteps of the current Government.
If they can get it past Winston it will make for an impressive Waitangi Day speech.
I wonder if Duncan ever takes a break to clear the foam from around his mouth.
attacking the messenger – not the story. How typical.
How about trying to discuss the point. Like $45million of taxpayer money going to fletchers – and jacinda opening up the issue of maori claims on private land
OK James. How would you resolve this particular issue bearing in mind the factors peculiar to this case?
I would Have had the protesters moved off the land legally sold to fletchers.
if they didn’t go – arrest them.
🙄
yeah that sounds like it would solve a lot.
Would win all those votes from the right! Hang on, they'll vote Nat won't they?
Yep! And piss off all those who actually wanted a fair settlement. But James and his mates would be happy – so that's alright then.
If that is your solution, then it shows you are probably unaware of the back history to this land. Including recent promises by Manukau District Council that were supposed to be part of the legacy package to Auckland Council. Also, the use of SHA legislation to bypass any reference to historical or tangata whenua concerns.
What has happened is a foreseeable and rational response to the failures of authorities at both local and national levels to follow procedures set in place to avoid this kind of conflict. (The land has significantly increased in value because of the SHA zoning to residential. A benefit gained solely by the landowner, by a designation change from council and not shared in any way by the community. A failure to implement a capital-uplift tax by Auckland Council.)
Good post Molly. In the current environment of pretty poor reporting it has been lost that the SHAs set up by Nick Smith overrode many concerns about the development of that land.
Particularly dense people who look to Duncan Garner for their opinions will actively ignore the recent and not so recent history of the place if it serves to bash Maori protestors.
The same people are incapable of realising the historical value of such areas, largely because it is not white historical value.
To me, the current government buying the land off Feltchers is the price to pay for the last government’s naked recolonisation of Ihumatao.
I would Have had the protesters moved off the land legally sold to fletchers.
if they didn’t go – arrest them.
That'll work! That'll really work! After all, who remembers Parihaka or Bastion Point these days? Hardly anyone who isn't Māori, right? If only the current government's leadership had James' wisdom and previous governments' disdain for Māori, this could all have been sorted very easily…
Attacking the messenger??? More like a disingenuous message that needs to be dispelled. How about the line that Fletcher's had the taxpayers over a barrel and did what predators do? It would have been more helpful if the history, reasons and motivations behind the Ihumatao resolution had been explored buy someone with investigative and reporting skills. This would have been more appropriate than a political hit-job by a foam-mouthed, self-opinionated lightweight.
I am just glad that we have a government with the ethics and courage to right this wrong. Talk of 'taxpayers money' is very immature – the government is buying back what it stole. Not only did it steal the land it sold it to private interests so the debt is theirs to repay. Fletchers seem to have behaved with integrity and have probably spent a lot negotiating this issue. Add that to the increase in the value of the land over the 4 years that they have owned it and what they are being offered is probably fair.
Personally I think this settlement was a reasonable compromise in this specific case. But the word 'stole' could have a very flexible meaning; there are plenty of people who'd cheerfully stretch it out to cover the whole of NZ.
Not all – some land was sold and some given. This agreement does open up new possibilities for negotiation and having now the possibilities of a 'case by case' scenario is going to make it a lot more complicated but fairer.
We wasted $30 million on a referendum only one person wanted.
I think this is good value for money.
That can easily be disproven.
The referendum or the money?
Go on then, James, disprove it!
I wanted the flag referendum also. So that was at least two of us.
This sounds like a wild goose chasing a red herring down the garden path about a false flag operation.
I'm picking you voted Black and Blue tea-towel and Black and Blue tea-towel just like John Key.
Just imagine if it had won. A dingy, dull black and blue. So much for "the brighter future" Key was promising.
Incredible a flag of such poor design was voted for by so many dense RWNJs who did so simply because they adored the corrupt John Key.
Lucky for New Zealand they were beaten in the end.
"attacking the messenger – not the story. How typical."
Hilarious, James!
Haven't you just attacked the messenger?
James made a valid point even though it might be hard to swallow for some …
Yep. And some messengers come with EXCEPTIONALLY large egos.
(I just broke a New Year's resolution. I'm now going to go flog myself)
attacking the messenger – not the story.
If the messenger's an ignorant, racist blowhard peddling misinformation with a poisonous agenda, attacking the messenger sounds entirely reasonable. More to the point would be, how much of a sucker would someone have to be to lend credence to Duncan Garner's messages.
Along Garner racist just shows how stupid and I’ll informed you are.
just because you disagree with him – doesn’t make him racist.
Isn't Garner the dude who went to kmart for undies and got contemplative about the "changing face of New Zealand"?
Yep, that's the guy. Nothing racist about bemoaning all the coloured people you have to hang out with, right?
Certainly not, especially while overlooking the fact that his contemplation of this (oh shit, I looked it up again and he actually called it "a nightmarish glimpse into our future") took place in an aussie-owned store with a US brand.
After all, he explicitly said that nothing in his column was intended to be racist. So that's alright, then.
A minority of the Press Council only thought his expressed views had an "unpleasant "dogwhistle" odour" but were not racist in a way that broke the rules, so yes you must be right.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99998249/majority-of-press-council-rules-duncan-garner-column-in-breach
(ie the majority of the Council thought his views were "gratuitous racism")
ooo I either missed or forgot that ending to the story.
That'll be on his permanent record.
What makes Garner racist?
2 hours after you commented Jimmy, and now your question is answered before you asked it, if one just runs down the thread… Tricky business, isn't it?
Might be a shock for people like you – but some of us had better things to do today than sit online waiting for replies.
Beautiful day on the water today. Pity you missed it.
Too many assumptions there, numpty. Actually had a great luncheon with friends. And Jimmy's comment was at 5 pm. Your day on the water started then, did it? Try harder.
James left school at 15 so is not too clever.
[It was just a matter of time before someone would cross the line and resort to stupid insults aimed at James. Like it or leave it, James is free to comment here as long as he adheres to the site’s policy and rules. Please don’t do this (again) or next time you throw insults at him for no direct reason you will be receiving gardening leave – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 10:17 PM.
He can comment. I'm not the one who bans him…
No, you were the one who insults him …
And? He does the same with his soft trolling of In Vino at 5.1.6.2.1.1
James freely offered his unlikely past in a series of posts on 21 January 2018 when he was trying to railroad Ed off the board.
You are defending the wrong people I think.
You are conflating two things here: me warning you about making insults and James giving a smart arse reply.
James has a reputation of being a stirrer and he has form. In fact, I left James a long comment about that yesterday, which you might want to read too (https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-24-01-2020/#comment-1681008).
As it turns out, you also have a bit of history here with flaming and insults. Coincidentally, your last ban (last year, 3 days only) was for insulting James!
As I said, like it or leave it, but please stop wasting my time. Thanks in advance.
I've had two bans here.
The one you mentioned which was in fact because of impudence shown towards a moderator (trivialising Weka's authority rather than insulting James), and another by Weka for directly questioning James' sincerity on the case of the man who set himself on fire before parliament.
I guess the price of having a forum that is not an echo chamber is the moderators must protect stirrers in your words, or trolls in mine.
[please correct the error in your user handle; it has happened twice now. Thanks]
You have had more than two bans here and quite a few moderator warnings.
Given your recalcitrant behaviour, I think that is low.
I am calling you out on your insulting behaviour and I am not protecting anybody. Moderators are not bodyguards but more like cleaners who clear up the mess made and left behind by others on this site.
Like it or leave it; this is my final word on this and I kindly suggest taking heed.
I have corrected the error which was at your end.
It's a glitchy site.
Uhuh
Well, artifacts are constantly left and repeated in the username section which is, for some reason, not independent from the comments section.
But what do I know?
Take it up with the SYSOP. Most seem to manage here most of the time but the mistake you made is quite common and often goes unnoticed for a (little) while, which wastes Moderator time.
I know what this forum is run on…
You might like to correct system caused username mistakes without fanfare in future.
Volunteers
Talk to the SYSOP
Me too.
Seems to work fine with firefox. What browser are you using, Muttonbird?
Thanks McFlock. It's a WordPress thing I think where a mistake in the username is repeated ad infinitum.
@ Incognito's oddly timestamped comment:
I think I've had two bans.
So I have a problem with authority. What is a simple activist to do? Lie down and take it, I suppose? Where on earth would that end, George Orwell?
You can either accept my contribution to The Standard, or not. I think I make a decent effort in most of my comments but am called out on a few and that seems to define me according to yourself and Weka.
I'll work hard to conform to your definition of “smart-arse reply” which you seem to accept, and stick to that.
This grovelling approach works for some – I might try it! 😀
Your “grovelling approach works” but only just because it’s a lovely morning and I had a decent sleep last night.
You’ve had more than two bans but this is not important (I can provide the links, with time-stamps for your personal archive or trophy cabinet, but why waste more time on this?).
You have an occasional problem with your attitude and language when you resort to flaming and insulting, which has led to moderation and a few (>2) bans.
You also seem to have a problem with listening, simple explanations, simple instructions, and following clear and simple rules. I’d use a different word for that than “activist” and “recalcitrant” was possibly too mild.
Whether you continue making valuable contributions here or smart arse replies is neither here nor there for me. It’s up to commenters to make this a better site or turn it into sandpit full of petulant smart arses or foul-mouthed morons. The choice is yours; like it or leave it.
A few months back I had a plugin in FF that screwed with any website that needed a form, even though it did what it was supposed to do (text substitution).
Additionally some browsers on some operating systems can be tempramental.
Newer browsers often have a "safe" mode, where all plugins or add-ons are disabled. Try TS in safe mode, and if it works then some plugin is arguing with your browser.
Forms all work ok on other websites?
I don't think Garner is racist. Wasn't his partner(s) a part Maori woman?
No idea on whomever he shags.
But the media council sure thought he'd expressed a racist opinion. Many people have their reckons, not many people have their reckons determined to be "gratuitous racism" by an independent panel that oversees their industry.
The only other one who comes to mind for that sort of thing is David Irving.
unless he is foaming at the mouth he ain't gonna get paid.
so yeah, he be foaming.
Unless he’s lathering up generously in the shower and eating or licking the soap, he’ll be frothing at the mouth, not foaming.
Who knows what that guy has swallowed, really.
So it's about 50/50 on foaming vs frothing?
Probably a cake of Grandma Lye Soap..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdaeQLCTa6g&t=32s
The initial comment @ 4 was about a potentially imminent breakthrough in the Ihumātao dispute.
I think it is worth noting that many comments in this thread did not discuss the topic at all but were diversions about Duncan Garner being an alleged racist, about James, about the flag referendum and other unrelated and thus irrelevant things.
Inevitably, it ended up with blatant insults with no constructive content whatsoever and almost led to a ban 🙁
Somehow I can't get terribly worked up about that virus outbreak. Its place of origin is one that winks at the sort of unhygenic practices around rearing animals, and selling them or their products, that we outlawed decades ago. They're reaping what they've sown. Yes, there might be a few deaths here to begin with, but we'll contain the spread all right.
Personally, I find this more disturbing:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/25/trump-legacy-end-of-trust-in-democracy-simon-tisdall
Orwell wrote his best-known novel in 1948. Thirty-six years later, That Date actually arrived, but seemingly not its accompanying dystopia. The seeds, however, were already being sown. On by a similar length of time, and we arrive at the present day, where those seeds have germinated and are growing fast.
It's my wild-arsed guess there is a 90% chance this new bug will mutate into something less dangerous fairly quickly. However there is a small but non-zero chance it could go badly pear shaped like the 1918 Spanish Flu.
It's the Chinese Medical authorities, WHO and CDC who will do all the heavy lifting here. If Angola can contain Ebola, there is every chance China will get on top of this.
But in a weeks time we'll know more about this virus, it's incubation time, it's infectivity and it's lethality. In the meantime don't get worked up, but don't ignore basic precautions either.
Hope so. In 1918 we didn't have gene sequencing to identify exactly where it came from, either the Krait or Chinese Cobra apparently,and effective isolation and containment systems and back then it was some months before they even knew there was a problem.
A mate who has visited the sort of food market to the Wuhan one has said the bloody places are unbelievable, they have no place in the 21st century.
just for some balance
here is a list of ecoli break outs in the western world due to lax business rules – i.e. self certifying. Just in case you like your romaine and lettuce and ground beef.
https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/outbreaks.html
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/5/5/99-0502_article
Funnily enough, i have always eaten in food courts in asia when i travel and i never even had as much as a stomach bugling, however friends of mine who insisted in MacDo and the likes often came down with the runs. Go figure.
Funny that. I reckon it sometimes may be just a change in the ecology in the gut, or something similar. About a month ago I spent time both in Japan and Thailand. In Thailand I ate from street vendors, in dirt floor restaurants with no running water, and other meals from questionable sources. Not a problem except for tender tushie from all the chili-laced meals I scarfed.
Japan was great, but I did have one afternoon with a case of runny bum.
The point is that even in ultra-hygeinic locations one can get a tummy rumbler. Although, to be honest getting a case of the Aztec Two-step is more likely in the less developed more free wheeling regions. Sometimes it's just luck.
If I understood the news correctly this morning, the Chinese have warned that the infectious period starts 2 weeks before any symptoms show in the infectious person.
If this is true, I think it is the first time we have struck such a virus, and with two weeks before the infectious person can be detected, we have absolutely no hope of stopping the spread.
But – the second part is better: the virus causes fewer deaths proportionately than SARS did, and as viruses get better at spreading they tend to get milder in effect.
So a pandemic will mean quite a lot of us will recover from an annoying mild pneumonia, but there will not be billions of dead.
But did I hear that news correctly, and is the report true?
Not to mention it got called "Spanish Flu" because the Spaniards were neutral and none of the warring nations wanted to disclose how many of their troops were ill.
So they knew they had a problem, but it was a military secret and then everyone got shipped home around the world…
Yes, and people in Spain called it the Russian flu. Maybe we can call it that from here on in and everyone will be like totally impressed at how woke we are eh?
and then there is the sars research at the wuhan bio research facility.
But worries surround the Chinese lab, too. The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times, notes Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Tim Trevan, founder of CHROME Biosafety and Biosecurity Consulting in Damascus, Maryland, says that an open culture is important to keeping BSL-4 labs safe, and he questions how easy this will be in China, where society emphasizes hierarchy. “Diversity of viewpoint, flat structures where everyone feels free to speak up and openness of information are important,” he says.
https://www.nature.com/news/inside-the-chinese-lab-poised-to-study-world-s-most-dangerous-pathogens-1.21487
Yes I've witnessed that extreme authoritarian hierarchy in action in the workplace. It's quite spooky when you first see it, for a few moments I felt I'd been transported to a Nazi concentration camp movie.
Maybe that's why I'm so much less sanguine about the CCP's regime than Ad is.
If only they lived like us.
Cos west is the best, eh.
/
Some background on Bernie Sanders and what he has achieved in Burlington Vermont.
" One of his main goals was to rein in real estate speculation and gentrification, to keep the tenants in their homes. In 1984, he established the Burlington Community Land Trust, which started buying and renovating rundown rental properties on the Old North End. The model was to rent them at fixed rates or sell them at low prices, while retaining ownership of the land and sharing in any value appreciation. Now called the Champlain Housing Trust, it is the largest such nonprofit in the nation and has 8% of the city’s housing units "
Not afraid too confront the issues in his home town.
"While he brought free public concerts to Battery Park on the bluff, Sanders also went on a campaign to stop noisy late-night college parties, even accompanying police to dress down the revelers "
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-01-26/presidential-candidate-bernie-sanders-burlington-vermont-hometown
Wait a minute, we are supposed to give this guy Presidential credibility because a trust he started three decades ago has been doing up a few houses in a town about the same size and global importance as Gisborne?
Donald Trump and his dad were doing that for about the same time and instead of a few hundred houses, have turned it into a world-conquering hotel and resort brand.
Seriously if real estate is touted as the killer move for Sanders, someone needs a strategy refresh.
leave all that aside and take in this
1. Burlington, Vermont Population 2019. Burlington, Vermont's estimated population is 42,899
2.The ethnic composition of the population of Burlington, VT is composed of 35.1k White Alone residents (82.7%), 2.65k Asian Alone residents (6.25%), 2.32k Black or African American Alone residents (5.47%), 1.21k Hispanic or Latino residents (2.86%), 964 Two or More Races residents (2.27%), 109 American Indian & Alaska
3. The Champlain Housing Trust, founded in 1984, is the largest community land trust in the country. Throughout Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, CHT manages 2,300 apartments, stewards 620 owner-occupied homes in its signature shared-equity program, offers homebuyer education and financial fitness counseling, provides services to five housing cooperatives, and offers affordable energy efficiency and rehab loans. In 2008, CHT won the prestigious United Nations World Habitat Award, recognizing its innovative, sustainable programs.
While a nice thing for the residence of the City of Burlington Vermont, its a sad indictment of the state of USA's housing policies.
I'm not sure how it indicts anything.
At some point we're going to have to clear away this film-flam of the always-never-made-its and get to the main guy: What will Joe Biden Do as President?
it shows that a tiny wee little town has the largest housing charity.
that is the sadness about it all.
I don't know what Jo biden will do as president. Kidnap babies at the frontiers and then loose them in the system to god knows whom? Install a global gag rule on abortion, birth controll, and such to please forced birther crowd? Remove any and all regulations on the environment to drill baby drill and mine mine mine? Play golf every third day on the tax payers dime? Start world war three?
Honestly i have no fucking idea what Jo Biden would do, nor do i care.
But if this is an example of Bernie Sanders will do, then he will have put his name to a charity that has 2300 apartments under its umbrella and it stewards som 630 occupied owner houses, in a town of 43.000 people. And the sad thing about this charity is that it is the "Largest Charity of its kind in the US of A'. Go figure.
Meanwhile Here is what one editor of The Nation has to say on Elizabeth Warren:
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/warren-president-endorsement-2020/
"Nine days before the Iowa caucuses, Elizabeth Warren’s support among polled Democrats has declined from 21% to 11% since an ABC News/WashPost poll in October." https://www.axios.com/2020-presidential-election-poll-biden-warren-7dce6f94-7d30-4a5c-bab1-32dd15b8e09b.html
“This poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Jan. 20–23 among a random national sample of 1,004 adults. It has a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points”:
I always liked the brainy chick. Sigh.
Brokered convention anyone?
Focusing: "Ahead of the Iowa caucuses eight days from now, the NY Times says Sen. Bernie Sanders is "consolidating support from liberals and benefiting from divisions among more moderate" candidates, per the Times/Siena College poll." https://www.axios.com/2020-presidential-election-bernie-sanders-iowa-3a4357fb-5bae-4669-b885-6141e576823b.html
"Why it matters: Sanders gained 6 points since the last Times-Siena survey in late October and now has 25% of the vote in Iowa."
By the numbers:
What's the percent of undecideds? Still around 2/3?
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/11/21057416/iowa-and-new-hampshire-voters-undecided-2020-election
Seems to depend how they ask the question: "The Suffolk poll showed nearly a quarter of Democratic primary voters, 24 percent, are undecided. But the WBUR survey, which included so-called “leaners” — voters who initially say they are undecided but, when asked, say they are leaning toward one candidate — pegged the “undecided” number at just 5 percent." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/23/sanders-polls-2020-103084
Definite age variation happening, and it's big: "Age has become one of the defining cleavages of the 2020 Democratic race. In the CNN/SSRS national poll — in which Sanders has a slim, 3-point lead over Biden overall — Sanders is the top choice of 39 percent of Democrats under the age of 45. That’s 21 points ahead of the next closest Democrat, Warren, another septuagenarian who appeals to younger voters."
"On the other side of the ledger, Sanders is the first choice of only 16 percent of Democrats 45 and older. His strength halves again, to 8 percent, among those 65 and older. Biden, meanwhile, wins 33 percent of 45-and-older Democrats, and 37 percent of the 65-plus set."
Those with a memory of how socialism operated tend to be biased against it. Those who like the aspirations in the mix tend to go for it…
Bit of a shame but lets hope Bernie picks up Warrens 11%
i don't think that the Warrens supporters are the issue in supporting whomever is the democractic nominee.
How ever the same can not be said about Sanders supporters
https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-poll-warren-biden-2020-nominee-emerson-college-1483831
poll to be found here
https://emersonpolling.reportablenews.com/pr/national-2020-biden-and-sanders-battle-in-two-way-race-for-democratic-nomination
oh well. Its gonna be a shit show anyways. Why not start flinging it early?
Seems to be a link between perceptions a candidate is (or has been) discriminated against in the primary and support for an unknown candidate put forward by the democrats.
If these polls are indicative of couse than the rational choice is Bernie due to his supporters relative obstinance. Though I doubt US centrist pundits can draw the obvious conclusion.
yeah,
19% of Bernie supporters stating that they will NOT support the democratic nominee is ……….(insert what ever suits you).
vs, no one from the warren supporters saying that they will NOT support the democratic nominee should she not get the tick.
should be real easy for bernie to pick up warren supporters should he get the tick, but should it not be bernie we can expect 19% of his supporters to vote for the incumbent or humpty dumpty.
Its gonna be a delightful shitshow just like the last time around. And we all know who won. So yeah, they better give it to bernie or else…..:)
At least if Biden wins the nomination, you cannot blame the Democrats for moving too fast to the left.
Yeah. It'll be Democrats being pragmatic. A vote of confidence in the liberal establishment. Biden the grinner, face of BAU.
Katyusha rockets have hit the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad causing multiple casualties.
Astounding, wealthy, intelligent, privileged people can treat animals like this, the National Party link is neither here or there (other than a horrendous irony), & read how many chances the vets gave these guys!!! https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/119011628/national-mps-husband-son-face-trial-for-alleged-animal-cruelty-against-cows
It's revolting how some people treat animals. National MP barbara kuriger should be ashamed of her husband and her son. If she did nothing to prevent them from treating animals so cruelly, she should also be ashamed of herself. And to think she is their spokesperson for Rural Communities. Taranaki-King Country deserves better.
May the full arm of the law come down on them.
treating these cows would cut into the profit. And yes, she is the spokes person for 'rural communities' and it says a lot about The NoMates Party that would nominate someone like her to be a spokesperson for rural communities.
Hope the rural communties will wake up and tell her to get a job elsewhere.
You may want to re-read the link in I Feel Love’s comment 😉
His defence for the alleged crime is pretty weak IMHO. Will await the verdict with great interest.
Virus update by NZ scientist: https://sciblogs.co.nz/infectious-thoughts/2020/01/27/the-coronavirus-outbreak-in-china-what-a-difference-a-week-makes/
The inimitable Gordon McLaughlan has died.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/author-and-media-personality-gordon-mclaughlan-dies-aged-89
I recall one of his amusing anecdotes from his early journalistic days. He was approached by the SIS who "wanted to talk to him". Curious to know what they wanted to talk to him about, he agreed to meet them. He was told to go to a Wellington hotel and knock on the door of Room 60. (I've forgotten the number so 60 will do.) He found Room 60 and knocked on the door. No reply. He was about to leave when a voice from behind said "come in". He swung around and a man was standing in the open door of the room on the opposite side.
I wondered how he managed to open the door and check it was McLaughlan without making a sound. Maybe there was a secret peep-hole in the door that only the SIS knew about. 👿 Whatever, McLauchlan wouldn't do what they wanted him to do.
Muttonbird said…
Because I wanted the site to be as open as possible and because I didn't want to spend time endlessly fixing logins or dealing with robots, I disabled them back in about 2009. Instead I put in a system to allow anyone to leave comments and maintained the logins for authors, moderators and the lucky few who already had them.
However that meant that with every comment, the non-login author had to put put in their details on each comment – which slowed the commenting process. So I used cookies. Once you leave a comment on a particular browser on a particular system, I told your browser to remember those details on your client machine login, and to fill in the fields for you on that browser and machine whenever a comment was presented to fill in.
Works well until the details get mucked up at the client side. Typically when pasting into the wrong field, which causes the mistake to reproduced.
Thanks for that explanation.
The issue seems to be that, of late, occasionally when I am merrily typing away in the comment box the cursor will flip to the name box without warning. I continue to type until I need to look at the screen again and find no words added to the comment box, but they have been added to the name box which I didn't think to check.
I then re-type what got 'lost' in the comment box and hit 'Submit Comment'. The comment then goes out with extra words added to my username in the name box.
Not sure if it's an issue with my machine.
Is it one of those laptops with a touchpad below the keyboard? I always switch that off if I have a corded mouse – my hands hovering over the touch pad sometimes tap it and send the cursor funny places.
ALTHOUGH:
a good trick in a shared office is to put a cordless mouse usb in the back of a colleagues machine. Then as they're typing away just randomly point and click from your desk. drives 'em crazy if you do it subtly enough 😉
Yes, but the mousepad requires a definite push.
I've not been able to repeat the fault today – it's random.
McFlock is probably right. Mousepads are a nuisance when you're typing. Mine is turned off whenever I have a external keyboard/mouse talking to it. Which is most of the time.
I usually do have a wireless K750 keyboard + a MX Anywhere in my pack or where I work. I have 3 of them – work, home, and pack. Solar powered keyboards are *thin* – sneak in the pack very nicely.
Try the right side of the mouse pad. That is usually where they have the scroller option turned on. The option is often set to move fields when you use it vertically.