The Daily Blog Open Mic – Tuesday – 28th April 2020

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Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.

9 COMMENTS

  1. Interesting from The Telegraph, which gives us interesting news and thought from other countries other than the English-speaking hegemony we are weirdly entrapped in.

    Latvia has been successful in their systems coping with Covid-19. I wonder if anyone on the Committee for doing things that are good for all has noticed Latvia?

    We have done well but it is helpful to have another country to look at beyond Australia, far beyond.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/25/latvia-kept-covid-deaths-dozen-businesses-stayed-open/
    In an interview with The Telegraph, Karins also sets out how he has kept many shops and other businesses open as part of a balance struck between “keeping people healthy” and “doing the least amount of damage possible” to the economy.

    In Latvia, shopping centres are only closed at weekends, and businesses such as garden centres, construction shops and opticians have remained open.

    I don’t know if you will strike a paywall but even the bare details are of value. We must not rely on just our own media to play on our own ignorance and lack of discernment.

    • You’ve obviously come to realise Nu Zull is still tied to the empire @ Grey, and for a Pacific nation, it’s still very Euro-centric. Still unable to appreciate that there are other areas of the world who’ve been subjected to the same imperialism we have; still unable to appreciate that culturally ‘us’ and our indigenous are culturally closer in terms of the way its all played out over a century. (Btw I replied to your post yesterday).
      Part of the reason I can’t abide Shane Jones – very much the Noble Savage – Maori royalty even. (He’s made it after all!). Whilst of course having a concern for all those who just won’t “get off the couch”.
      There are others – Steve Elers for instance. (They operate in the “two worlds”, but actually when their status (and I mean status – not mana) is threatened or bullshit called out – guess which world they retreat into? Here’s a hint – the Wonderfully Wide World of Talleys that provides the treats and trinkets. Cargo cultism is also alive and well! I wish to Christ (given a lifetime and experiential longevity, Winnie would realise he’s not the solution, as I do others that contribute/comment here sometimes)
      We seem to still defer to all that Mother Country knows best shit – unfortunately even Jacinda to an extent.
      There is ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that Bloomfield and ‘the team’ have done a damn good job and that the PS has rallied around – many deserving of praise. Bloomfield and Adern are not actually superhuman though, and there expectations they should be.
      However what gets lost in it all is that we’re currently operating in a state of emergency and as such, I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of any Master of the Universe CEO that chose to go against the will of the Covid19 ‘Team’. Under normal circumstances, Ministers still receive gate-kept information as to how well the likes of WINZ, and MPI, and MBIE/INZ, Customs, Police are doing (not that I want to tar every agency/dept. with the same brush). In the early stages of the lockdown, you’ll recall instances of lax border controls quickly got stamped on where people off flights were effectively waived through. (I’ve experienced something similar in the past).
      There needs to be reform, and pronto IF Labour want to belatedly deliver on transformation and kindness because there’ll be the temptation to return to ‘bizzniss’ as usual for a lot of them.
      I don’t really hold out much hope (for example) that there’ll be any fundamental change in WINZ, or MPI, or INZ and related agencies, or Corrections. (You may have seen how the Ombudsman’s team couldn’t get near prisons until he went public). NOR do I hold out hope for some fairly obvious solutions to the problems Public Service Broadcasting, are facing.
      However I musn’t rave on – lest I come across as @Countryboy’s brother, but the bullshit from many master of the universe CEO/snr management in some agencies under normal circumstances IS a matter of record – and if it transpires that bits and pieces will jump up and bite them in the bum “going forward” – so be it. (I don’t include most of the worker bees under those masters of the universe by the way.)
      Que Sera Sera, and there’s really no point in getting your tits in a tangle over it all

      • Take your own advice OwT. I think you brought up all the points that have jabbed our minds over the last …yonks. It certainly is a learning experience here. I didn’t realise that we would have a parallel in Latvia. Perhaps we can take up sister nation status.

        They’ve got about 2 million people, in between Lithuania and Estonia, and all about the same size in geography. Russia on one border/side and sea on the other with Sweden and Denmark there. Riga 632,614 in 2019, which is largest city.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia

        Auckland has about 1.7 million now, and Auckland city in 2010 (the actual city) had 450,000 population before all the beaches were added in to make it a ‘world-class city’.
        NZ has about 5 million, up about half a million since 2010.

  2. NZ Labour govt allowing Business NZ ‘Carte Blanche’ to sack the NZ Workforce. And paying them bloody good money to do so!
    Business NZ know the government is Weak! They know the widdle princess and wobbly grant cant handle confrontation and under pressure they cave in easy.

    What a fuck’n disgrace of a govenment allowing “Big Business NZ” to stick it to them again. We cant even rely on any mongrel within the party to come to their aid and fight back because theyve ‘quot’d that out of the party!

    If the government goes broke, we’ll know why. They’ve bent over the table again, and given away the power again to the wealthy corporate and business sectors again. ffs!

  3. Today’s warning to Government ‘not to get cocky’ about your testing for low levels of infected covid 19 patients as the test can be faulty we have been warned.

    CEAC – “Gov’t must increase mass testing for all citizens now”.

    Political Press release – Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre
    Tuesday 28th April. –
    NZ Ministry of Health do not have adequate data yet to understand the nature of who has been exposed to Covid 19 and recovered; and must incorporate with the current ‘swab test’- “the antibody test (also called a serology test.) which confirm all who develop immunity to Covid 19.

    WHY?
    • We need to know who has actually developed immunity to the virus.
    • We do not have these tools at present in the test protocol
    • NZ Ministry of health is using only the nasal or throat swab test, which can ‘migrate’ from the nasal or throat in a few days we are being advised.

    • The current ‘nasal throat Swab’ coronavirus test look for the virus’ genetic material in a sample of mucus, which is usually collected by a nasal or throat swab administered by a health care worker. and only diagnose a current infection.

    • Whereas the antibody test (also called a serology test.) finds who develops immunity to Covid 19.

    • It signifies that the person has been exposed to the virus long enough that their immune system has been responding to it- which is the real gold standard now being used.
    https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/coronavirus-testing.html
    QUOTE; “Before the coronavirus started spreading in communities, there was just one type of test to detect an infection; – the coronavirus test look for the virus’ genetic material in a sample of mucus, which is usually collected by a nasal or throat swab administered by a health care worker,
    What is this coronavirus antibody test?
    Unlike other tests on the market, the antibody test (also called a serology test) does not diagnose a current infection. “It signifies that the person has been exposed to the virus long enough that their immune system has been responding to it,” Stenzel says.
    It’s important to remember: Many people who are infected with the coronavirus do not experience symptoms. And knowing whether someone has been infected but wasn’t sick can also pinpoint people who may be in the clear to return to normalcy.
    People who have already had the virus are “probably not going to be a danger to other people,” Stenzel explains. Scientists are still working to better understand if and how the virus mutates, but Stenzel says the thought is that those who have “been exposed to coronavirus and have developed immunity and have completely recovered, hopefully won’t get it again.”
    Public health experts are also looking to serology tests to paint a more complete picture of how the virus spreads and to better understand its fatality ratio. The CDC is developing its own serology test for this reason”. Unquote.

    The following report here confirms that the current NZ Ministry of Health nasal throat swab test can be false negative in several ways.

    Proof is below; “A ‘negative’ coronavirus test result doesn’t always mean you aren’t infected”

    This was found reported in China during their pandemic, and they resorted to ‘lung Xray’s’ to confirm that the patient was seriously ill after so many confusing false negative swab results were repeatedly found occurring there.
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/a-negative-coronavirus-test-result-doesnt-always-mean-you-arent-infected/ar-BB11KbjX

    And this also shows how false Swab testing is;

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7960423/The-Latest-Shanghai-index-drops-8-virus-outbreak-grows.html

    Quote; “A test developed by the researchers was able to detect 2019-nCoV in oral swab samples. But samples taken about 10 days later did not have a positive result.”

    CEAC are on the record here;

    CEAC have several times requested for “NZ Ministry of Health to be cautious” now more so with the virus testing protocols beginning on 20th January 2020..
    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2001/S00041/ceac-calls-for-ministry-of-health-to-be-cautious.htm
    CEAC calls for Ministry of Health to be cautious
    Monday, 20 January 2020, 2:31 am
    Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre
    Monday 20th January 2020
    “CEAC calls for Ministry of Health to be cautious of mystery viral pneumonia spreading from China.”

    For our public health and safety;
    CEAC is calling on Gov’t -Ministry of Health to carry out the following;

    • NZ Ministry of Health do not have adequate data yet to understand the nature of who has been exposed to Covid 19 and recovered.

    • Ministry of Health must incorporate with the current ‘swab test’- “the antibody test (also called a serology test.) which confirm all who develop immunity to Covid 19.

    • To save citizens lives and avoid false negative throat nasal swab tests.

    https://www.tvnz.co.nz/content/tvnz/onenews/story/2020/04/19/contact-tracing.html?auto=6150550268001
    ‘If you even have a sniffle or the slightest sore throat’ get tested for Covid-19, PM urges
    • Conduct full Covid 19 testing of all our citizens firstly and complete a full assessment of solid controlled ‘tracing of the Covid 19’.
    • We must have mass testing of all our community firstly to have a solid ‘robust tracing process’ to fight Covid 19.

    END.

  4. Dallas Prendergrast (owner of Glenfield Mall).
    Darling! Sweetie! My heart bleeds for you …. truly it does. I just listened to your plight on RNZ Checkpoint.
    After I’d given up trying to count the number of times you mentioned “these people”, I realised just how bad things must be for you – the true victim in this dreadful dreadful Covid 19 thingy.
    Gosh! And to think you’ve had absolutely no thanks for all the hard work and concern you get for ‘those people’. It must be absolutely heart wrenching.

  5. Wage subsidy series

    Case 1: World leader in professional staffing needs the welfare handout

    If you’ve ever had the misfortune of being interviewed by a WINZ staffer while unemployed, you may have had them refer you to the employment brokers Adecco, a swish middle man of a company bringing together employers and jobs. It seems this multinational with revenue of more than $20 billion and with global staff numbers exceeding 30,000 now needs a ‘hand up’ themselves, courtesy of the NZ taxpayer. MSD, who in my case threatened to cut my benefit if I didn’t register with this private enterprise, are reporting in their wage subsidy database that Adecco have applied for $12 million for 1800 staff. Nice work if you can get it, especially at $6759 a head. Could it be that the employment oasis this company was offering was just a bookkeeping mirage, an HR dark arts franchise that can’t even look after their own employment let alone the general public? Certainly it is hard to reconcile trading deeply personal information such as medical histories and a urine sample to this company in good faith for the opportunity to engage in your own community through meaningful work. And how many other corporates who have cornered a market sector are now just as vulnerable as the people they are supposedly serving? In any case, if you are ever referred to Adecco by WINZ in the future, look at the smartly dressed professional selling the gift of life from behind their desk and remind them that they work for you now, the job seeking citizenry of New Zealand.

    • This isn’t a system of agencies working for Our Government showing it how to be more efficient, it’s business of whom I have an example of one maneouvre called Blood on the Carpet. This is about sleepy old Government (supposed) being treated like a business being run in a traditional manner, that can be sharpened up like any business after a takeover, labour cuts, property sales, and easy profit from stripping it. That’s why we have a government that smells like a dead fish, it’s been filleted and we have been left with the waste and the bones.

      it’s a con job on innocent or helpless or conniving governments, or another form of cult that has wormed its way into Our Government, and turned it into Their Client, and preens itself like scientology.

  6. Interesting from stuff. Trump is going to be affected by shutdowns from Covid in his hotels etc. He may have to borrow to tide him over, he has gone bankrupt before but perhaps now isn’t the best time to let his creditors hang out to dry.
    So ask Deutsche Bank for info on Trump and it’s all confidential. Trump can play the USA like a harp, tinkle tinkle.
    https://play.stuff.co.nz/details/_6152065793001
    Deutsche Bank has declined a request by prominent U.S. senators to provide information about the German lender’s recent business dealings with President Donald Trump and his family. That’s according to a letter this week seen by Reuters. Four Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, earlier this month demanded details from Deutsche’s chief executive, Christian Sewing, about the bank’s interaction this year with Trump and his family’s companies. The bank is one of the largest creditors for Trump’s hotels, golf courses and other properties, according to filings. The senators are concerned that the bank may be giving the family …

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