New Zealand has seen twenty-five COVID-19 deaths. In total.
The SKWAWKBOX has received a moving video of a simple time when proud parents and grandparents could pack tightly into a school hall to watch their children receive recognition for their hard work in class.
Today.
The video, taken by a friend of SKWAWKBOX editor Steve Walker and used with permission, shows his daughter receiving an award at her school – in New Zealand:
The proud young girl even receives a hug and kiss from the teachers presenting the award.
New Zealand has suffered just over 2,000 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, with 25 deaths – because as an island nation its Prime MInister seized the opportunity to close borders and ensure that the virus never took hold enough to overwhelm attempts to eliminate it, instead of boasting how well prepared her country was and sitting back while disaster arrived.
As a result, life in New Zealand today looks much like it did a year ago. But to the UK, which has suffered tens of thousands of needless deaths and one of the worst economic collapses in the developed world, it looks like archive footage of a lost era, with scientists warning that even a vaccine is unlikely to restore normality for a long period yet.
The people of this country are still being misled enough by politicians and the media that many of them don’t properly realise what a disaster the UK has suffered, let alone how different it could have been with a decent government – or even an ‘opposition’ that actually opposes instead of approving everything the Tories are doing as if there were no better options.
The proud dad told the SKWAWKBOX, “We won the leadership lottery” – but New Zealand is not the only country whose government responded better to the crisis than that of the UK. Islands Japan and Iceland and peninsula South Korea also showed how different things could be when governments exploited their geographic good fortune for the good of their people.
When the Tories boast, or the media tell you that the UK pandemic was unavoidable and focus on scenes from hard-hit landlocked countries, they’re lying to you.
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Compared to ours she’s a great PM, no argument there.
However you may not know that, as of the end of September, NZ was still refusing cyclone refuge to foreign yachts in the South Pacific region who customarily spend cyclone season in NZ.
I’ve seen nothing to say the situation has changed.
Cyclone season is from November to April so small ocean-going family yachts are already too late to commit to a voyage of three or four weeks.
There might be as many as a few hundred yachts already in serious danger – family sized yachts can’t survive cyclones at sea.
When vessels enter countries even in normal circumstances they’re not allowed to set foot ashore until cleared by Customs at ‘ports of entry’, making quarantine easy to enforce.
This current restriction is unreasonable – many, many countries on transoceanic routes are allowing refuge to world cruisers.
A case of the ‘haves & the ‘have yachts’.
Lots of cruising folk only own the vessel they live aboard – sold the house, bought a boat. Lots of retired people living on pensions like me.
Most of us are not rich – we’re not talking superyachts here, just sailing craft, mostly under 40 feet.
Just a .bad taste’ joke David & I apologise if I have ever made you feel ‘unsafe’ or ‘unwelcome’.
I would like to see all mps,councillors lords and Royals first in the line for vaccination…after all they are the leaders of our society and in times of crisis they are the ones who come first and are protected.from nuclear fallout etc.I will of course feel duty bound to wait at the back for a few months being a elderly person that is not one of the economically useful members of society like the above..
MONSTERS with NO opposition 🔴
Not “idiots”. Were they idiots, they might be forgiven. But, they know what they do.
They’re callous. Callously profiteering. Thousands of unnecessary lives lost,
mean zilch to them.
Covid-19 exploited. A cash-cow for chums.
Blair endorsed Johnson. Starmer worked with Blair to undermine Labour to make monstrous chums continue damning the many to benefit the few.
Starmer worked night and day
to go on enriching
one percent.
1%
🔴
They are MONSTERS with NO opposition. Not idiots.
Monsters🔴
I am with Squawky on the disaster this government is,which leads me to think how amazing it is that we are ahead of every other nation with the Pfizer vacine..IT just goes to show that the Conservative and unionist party that murdered my brothers in elderly acomadation are reformed characters.and even they believe in spreading the goodness by starting with the elderly first…God bless them?
The goodness shines through,Hancock tearful and emotional,he managed though to reasure the public with those immortal words “ITs good for you,and its good for the country” …Amazing the way hes managed to catch the hearts of the nation.Think myself and my better half will stick to Horlicks…Its good for you …good night way past my bedtime comrades.
Indeedy Joseph. This vomit-inducing self-serving lachrymosity seems to be a ‘thing’ nowadays for the corrupt liars of the Right ! I well recall that oily creature of the arms industry, groveller to the Saudi dictatorship, and baler-out from Labour just before his accusation for sexual harassment was due for investigation, Ex MP, now Baron Walney, John Woodcock, snivelling tearfully in self congratulation in the Lords during his inaugural speech – while openly boasting of how he had tirelessly helped fuck over the Corbyn-led Labour Party !
Of course, as we should by now expect in all ‘mature democracies’ (ie, corrupt facade democracies) , the teary Baron Walney got his sinecure peerage from the Tories, NOT his own Party ! For services to the neoliberal capitalist state and the corruption of democracy. Dearie, me , it’s so lovely that these soooo sincere psychopaths, across all the major parties are in charge of our ‘democracy’, that I can feel a wee tinkly tear starting too — of sheer fucking RAGE !! Hopefully, to suitable amend a passage from a Terry Pratchett novel, ‘As a class we must accept the ever rising waters of righteous resentment and outraged anger – in the sure knowledge that this will eventually power the turbines of revolutionary class REVENGE !” Anyway, such a comforting thought helps keep my blood pressure in check !
Business and money first here, before people
Thank God for the vaccine, very useful for burying mixed messages on Brexit. Let’s hope it works (the vaccine that is).
Are you saying that all our over paid politicians are @ best incompetent or @ worse criminally negligent? What if they are not incompetent & not negligent; perhaps everything is going to plan? We really are an island, despite what that idiot from the HSBC advert says & perhaps some of those politicians really are quite intelligent & have carefully researched potential outcomes………….is that manslaughter or murder?
I’d go for murder. But then again, manslaughter broken in the middle is man’s laughter. Which we can all be sure, as you said, is what our shitty so called leaders do whatever the outcome of their bent policies for the rest of us . . . all the way to the bank
Quite right. We squandered the advantage of our island status because the rich were worried about their money. And look where the virus has hit worst. They knew it would. There are no Tory MPs in Liverpool. They knew.
No……..but we have Joe Ashton.
Meanwhile, her in corrupt incompetent Tory (oops . . . and Labour!) UK, we have people again dying like flies, and all we hear about is relaxing restrictions at Christmas so that it’s NICER, and, well, it’ll be worth a few more thousand deaths. Course it will. Won’t it?
And on the Channel 4 News tonight, a savage attack by Cathy Newman on Matt Hancock: Yes indeed. She asked him about the fact thatA FRIEND OF HIS had acquired a massively inflated £30million contract for supplying PPE, despite the fact that his FRIEND’S company had no previous experience in this area. Hancock replied that he himself had not signed off this contract. Rottweiler Newman then said . . . NOTHING AT ALL, but moved swiftly on to the next question.
New Zealand has the proud Haka. The UK has corrupt collusive HACKS tacitly supporting corrupt collusive, and now MURDEROUS politicians. And nowhere is there outrage. Maybe we deserve them.
Maybe we do.
Cathy Newman’s useless when she runs out of script.
Saw her try to interview the right wing ant–feminist pseudo-psychologist Jordan Peterson once – any half-decent thinker from the left would have ripped him and his bullshit to bits but she had nothing – thoroughly stumped.
McNasty (the half decent thinker)……You really don’t like anyone who dares to speak up on behalf of the working class, particularly on behalf of working class males. Cathy Newman is part of the same class that benefits from the privileges dispensed by the bourgeois ‘Guardian Woke Culture’. Interchangeable & oozing privilege, she could be Laura Kuenessberg or Emily Maitliss or Emma Bunton or Razzle Dazzle…..same person; same career opportunities; same ideologies; same mantra, same privileges; different faces.
Does Petersen dare criticise Marxism & Feminism? No coincidence that Emmeline Pankhurst stood as a PPC for the Tory Party under the slogan ‘For King; Country & Empire’. Strange that Chrystabel Pankhurst campaigned for conscription to be introduced for young working class boys to be sent to the trenches & young working class girls to become ‘canaries’ in munitions factories. The school leaving age was 12 years. It is no wonder that ‘Socialist’ Sylvia Pankhurst refused to speak to her mother & sister.
Jordan Petersen is entitled to his opinions without your sneering rant. I would describe myself as a Marxist who also has problems with Identity Politics, but I dare question all dominant ideologies (including Marxism) or any ideology that serve elites & maintains the bourgeois status quo. Whose interests do you serve?
Yes David, she’s deteriorated massively . Used to be sometimes on it, but now is really pretty poor and could just as easily be a BBC arse licker, sorry to say. The whole programme’s gone to pot, and even Guru-Murthy seems to have had his teeth pulled. I’d be very surprised if it isn’t a deliberate editorial shift. Not really worth watching nowadays.
“You really don’t like anyone who dares to speak up on behalf of the working class” – who’d that be then – Peterson? You? Don’t make me laugh. I’ve worked on building sites, driving trucks and in factories for more years than I’ve worked in offices – so don’t give me that plebbier-than-thou bullshit.
Peterson resents the limited equality gains and economic progress of women and thinks that they’re (paraphrasing from memory) biologically and emotionally unsuited to the business world – and should presumably stick to typing, shopping, housekeeping and mothering.
Every word he speaks in public has been focus-grouped with his students for effect and impactfulness, which is why he sounds so over-rehearsed and declamatory.
His personality is fragile as glass – when Newman almost had him on the ropes the practised urbanity slipped for a second and he almost threw a hissy fit.
The man’s a woman-hating neoliberal poseur and if he speaks for you you’re no socialist, Bruv.
Marxist? Call yourself whatever you like, I’ll make up my own mind about you when I’ve read more of your comments.
If we deserve our politicians then we really are doomed. Makes me proud to be a Catholic like Guy Fawkes & discriminated against by law.
And off message again…Britain drops clauses from internal market , Bill? Common sense at last from the conservative and unionist party? I very much doubt it,but more a case of severe pressure applied from Uncle Joe rather than reason and sense in the militarization of the false border with the stupidly named N Ireland.Like everthing offered by this government its best to scrutinise carefully and ask why?Nothing comes for free with this government of psychopaths..so we wait and see and hope..!
I wouldn’t be surprised if drones take a growing role in observing the border area – possibly a whole regiment of drone pilots and hundreds or thousands of almost-autonomous small military drones.
It’ll be a useful trial for future social control measures and gated community protection when the shit hits the fan.
David the British have perfected urban warfare and how to deal with people that disagree with them in n.Ireland’s troubles.Most of these will be enhanced in future disputes coming soon.I doubt we will see H blocks Towers round barbed wire prisons,for those detained,but something along those lines will be adopted.for the Brits.I really don’t know what it feels like in todays Britain,because I have been gone a long time now,at first because of the virus and being one of the 300 infected didnt make it easy to get back,excepting when I came back for the election nearly 12 months on the 13 th of December.I have been happy to stay here in Cambodia .and I was one of the first to bring the virus here…somthing I am deeply ashamed of despite only 3people have died here.Regarding drones….they maybe intrusive and they are already being used in Derry and Armagh,but I am not sure the British army have used them for urban warfare yet because they usually like to test weapons and tactics on the republican population first,and I have heard nothing of that…..Still dangerous times and you don’t have to live in Ireland now to experience repression and fear.I am told by comrades that its becoming increasingly popular in the Labour party.