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Hola a todos nuestros amigos y familiares,
All in the pink, we are sure.
We apologise for last week's further comments on the "vaccinations" after stating in week no. 38 that there would be no more comments on the subject! However, in our defence, we simply have to say that new and relevant information comes to hand all the time, and so we must reserve the right to amend or add to our previously expressed views. We always retain an open mind - as we also expect others to do. And the veracity of these figures, taking into account the always shifting political landscape, probably needs taking with a grain of salt. We wonder how the ordinary 'flu figures are going now that the Kung Flu seems to be declining??
We'll briefly refer to an interview by Mark Levin on Fox News tonight of a former NY Times science writer, Nicholas Wade, on the subject of the true origin of the Chinese Virus. Reference is made to Dr. Anthony Fauci who was up to his scrawny neck in funding of "gain of function" research at the Wuhan Laboratory for establishing how to make Coronaviruses worse, ostensibly for the purpose of finding more sophisticated methods of combating these viruses. This type of research should be banned by international treaty. Fauci denied in a flat-out lie under oath in the US Senate that he had had anything to do with any funding. This was disingenuous at best as he caused the funding to be made available to Wuhan through an intermediary. It is appalling that US government agencies could be used for anything remotely like this type of research and it proves once again that DR. ANTHONY FAUCI IS A FLAT-OUT LIAR AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN TRUSTED FROM THE OUTSET. He flip-flopped on mask wearing and has been demonstrably wrong on just about every time that he has opened his mouth.
This further undermines all the so-called official narratives on the Chinese Virus and further justifies anyone, including us, refusing these experimental vaccines. Now they are implying that boosters will probably be needed every 6 months as the main shots will be severely limited as regards the time that they remain effective. On top of that there is all the uncertainty surrounding medium and long-term side-effects. The goal-posts shift all the time and now there are further implications of shaming (failing to do civic duty!!) and refusal of basic services such as air travel if one was to remain unvaccinated. Various states in the US are introducing legislation to ban vaccination passports and to make any coercion on the basis of any vaccination illegal. The Dims want the control of course because that's their life-blood, but freedom will triumph in the end. Watch this space!!
MUNDO - World
Population - 7,865,668,907 - (7,864,111,215) - up 1,557,692 or 0.02%
Active cases - 15,828,045 - (17,719,172) - down 1,891,127 or 10.7%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 2,012 - (2,253) - down 241 or 10.7%
More than double last week's rate of reduction. Wonder how the flu infections are going?!!
ARGENTINA
Population - 45,561,776 - (45,553,852) - up 7,924 or 0.02%
Active cases - 339,261 - (281,414) - up 57,847 or 20.6%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 7,446 - (6,178) - up 1,268 or 20.5%
The rate of increase appears to be gaining ground. Last week 4.0% - this week as above. Not good.
AUSTRALIA
Population - 25,760,790 - (25,755,133) - up 5,657 or 0.02%
Active cases - 137 - (186) - down 49 or 26.3%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 5 - (7) - down 2 or 28.6%
A continuing decline, but only with draconian restrictions on travel. Australians are NOT permitted to leave their country on pain of massive fines. The only exception is the "travel bubble" between there and NZ.
BOLIVIA
Population - 11,813,342 - (11,810,296) - up 3,046 or 0.03%
Active cases - 51,574 - (45,842) - up 5,732 or 12.5%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 4,366 - (3,882) - up 484 or 12.5%
A doubling of last week's rate of increase - very concerning.
BRAZIL
Population - 213,893,706 - (213,864,852) - up 28,854 or 0.01%
Active cases - 1,068,205 - (1,026,902) - up 41,303 or 4.0%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 4,994 - (4,802) - up 192 or 4.0%
An almost doubling of last week's increase. Also concerning.
CHILE
Population - 19,261,041 - (19,257,906) - up 3,135 or 0.02%
Active cases - 38,716 - (37,473) - up 1,243 or 3.3%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 2,010 - (1,946) - up 64 or 3.3%
A continuation of last week's increase.
COLOMBIA
Population - 51,361,292 - (51,350,926) - up 10,366 or 0.02%
Active cases - 114,746 - (113,463) - up 1,283 or 1.1%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 2,234 - (2,210) - up 24 or 1.1%
A significant improvement on last week's increases of 11.8%. Maybe the corner is being turned?!!
COSTA RICA
Population - 5,135,171 - (5,134,282) - up 889 or 0.02%
Active cases - 66,229 - (57,307) - up 8,922 or 15.6%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 12,897 - (11,162) - up 1,735 or 15.5%
A slightly lower, but insignificant rate of increase than last week. However, the overall infection level is well above any other S American or Central American country that we monitor.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Population - 10,943,887 - (10,941,808) - up 2,079 or 0.02%
Active cases - 42,110 - (38,134) - up 3,976 or 10.4%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 3,848 - (3,485) - up 363 or 10.4%
Let's hope that there is the start of a reduction soon. These figures are getting on the high side.
ECUADOR
Population - 17,879,026 - (17,873,899) - up 5,127 or 0.03%
Active cases - 40,734 - (43,643) - down 2,909 or 6.7%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 2.278 - (2,432) - down 154 or 6.3%
Down again by more or less the same rate as last week. Keep the good work going.
GERMANY
Population - 84,020,788
Active cases - 176,265
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 2,097
No comparative figures from last week as we are including Germany for the first time for our friends, Josie and Reinhard in Werneck, near Wurzburg in northern Bavaria - with whom we spent 2 wonderful weeks in 2018 after the trauma of Turkey.
JAPAN
Population - 126,133,589 - (126,140,961) - down 7,372 or 0.006%
Active cases - 70,505 - (74,846) - down 4,341 or 5.8%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 559 - (593) - down 34 or 5.7%
Hopefully, after last week this will be the beginning of a continuing reduction in infections.
MALAYSIA
Population - 32,731,540 - (32,723,609) - up 7,931 or 0.02%
Active cases - 52,106 - (41,471) - up 10,635 or 25.6%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 1,592 - (1,267) - up 325 or 25.7%
The weekly rate of increase has risen substantially. Let's hope this can be reversed soon.
MEXICO
Population - 130,127,725 - (130,101,834) - up 25,891 or 0.02%
Active cases - 259,873 - (259,731) - up 142 or 0.06%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 1,997 - (1,996) - up 1 or 0.05%
A change of trajectory, but only by a miniscule amount. We hope to see a resumption of the downward trend.
NEW ZEALAND -
Population - 5,002,100 - (5,002,100) - at this rate Godszone will fall off the bottom of the world!! No further comment!
Active cases - 23 - (18) - up 5 or 27.8%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 5 - (4) - up 1 or 25.0%
At this rate NZ will be a commercial basket case - even more than it already is!!!
PANAMA
Population - 4,374,582 - (4,373,282) - up 1,300 or 0.03%
Active cases - 5,821 - (4,809) - up 1,012 or 21.0%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 1,331 - (1,100) - up 231 or 21.0%
Same rate of increase as last week. Panama was doing so well; what has happened?
PARAGUAY
Population - 7,209,782 - (7,208,106) - up 1,676 or 0.02%
Active cases - 47,715 - (45,670) - up 2,045 or 4.5%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 6,618 - (6,336) - up 282 or 4.5%
A repeat of last week. We hope there is a turnaround soon.
PERU
Population - 33,376,576 - (33,367,789) - up 8,787 or 0.03%
Active cases - 122,422 - (87,335) - up 35,087 or 40.2%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 3,668 - (2,617) - up 1,051 or 40.2%
Another horrendous increase, but less than last week's 79%. Hopefully there may be a downturn soon.
PHILIPPINES
Population - 110,866,521
Active cases - 55,531
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 501
Modest figures compared to some others. No comparisons until next week.
TAIWAN
Population - 23,854,900 - (23,854,078) - up 822 or 0.004%
Active cases - 1,991 - (171) - 1,820 or 1,064.3%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 84 - (7) - up 77 or 1,100.0%
A massive increase - unbelievable. Probably the CCP seeding new strains of the virus direct from the Wuhan laboratory during their many incursions into Taiwanese airspace. Maybe they've decided that an outright invasion would be too much trouble and would damage their international relations ahead of the February Winter Olympics, so they'll try outright murder instead. Wouldn't put anything past those murderous bastards.
THAILAND
Population - 69,954,851 - (69,951,611) - up 3,240 or 0.005%
Active cases - 42,827 - (33,186) - 9,641 or 29.1%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 612 - (474) - up 138 or 29.1%
Rate of increase more than double that of last week. Let's hope this gets reversed soon. Rate of increase in population well below global average - except NZ where nothing happens at all!!
UNITED KINGDOM
Population - 68,201,093 - (68,194,286) - up 6,807 or 0.01%
Active cases - 41,632 - (58,987) - down 17,355 or 29.4%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 610 - (865) - down 255 or 29.5%
The rate of decrease is great, but is so great over recent weeks that we could almost suspect that earlier active case numbers have been overstated just to keep the population in a controlled state of fear, no doubt with many ordinary flu cases recorded as the Kung Flu! Of course we can't prove that, but with the almost elimination of ordinary flu in recent times, we think the evidence is compelling. The same comments also apply to the United States and no doubt other countries as well.
We have also heard the news that the BBC has apologised to the Royal Family in the aftermath of the revelation that the Martin Bashir interview of Princess Diana in 1995 was arranged only after forged papers had been given to Diana's brother by Bashir of the BBC; these were forged bank statements which were used to imply to Earl Spencer that royal courtiers were being paid by security services for information on Diana. The statements also gave the impression that associates/employees of the Royal Family were selling stories to newspapers.
This "deceived and induced" Earl Spencer and Diana to agree to proceed with the infamous interview where Diana correctly stated - "there were three people in this marriage - it was a bit crowded". This of course provided the final rift with the adulterous Charles who had been conducting an affair with that awful woman, Camilla before, during and after his marriage to Diana. In turn this led to her friendship and affair with Dodi Al-Fayeed and we all know what happened then.
It has been said, and we agree, that if it had not been for the outrageous and egregious fraud perpetrated by the BBC, then in all likelihood Princess Diana would still be alive. Whether she and Charles would have remained married is a moot point, but this action by the BBC actually constituted an attack on the future King and Queen of Great Britain at the time. As such it amounted to a seditious attack on the British Crown. As an institution, the BBC is finished. This grieves us as it must many people. It has had an illustrious history which began in 1922 as a private company in those days. That was 99 years ago and then a few years later it operated until the present day under a Royal Charter. From broadcasting secret coded messages to various resistance groups during World War II to nurturing famous broadcasting and comedy acts. From the Goon Show, to The Archers, to The Navy Lark, - all these and many more we remember with great fondness from back in the days before TV in NZ - pre 1960 from faint memory! And of course from the TV era - Michael Parkinson, Dame Edna Everidge and many more including more sitcoms than we can remember - at least without giving away our own antiquity!!
One final comment on this sad and unhappy affair (pun intended) - Charles has shown himself to be deficient in character and therefore unsuited to be King, or indeed head of the Church of England. He should never ascend the throne. In our view, if he did, this would spell the end of the British monarchy. And all of this has contributed in no small way to Prince Harry's bad choice of wife and subsequent actions which have been injurious to the institution of the monarchy. His various actions have been ill-advised to say the least, but we believe the lingering bitterness which he must surely feel have contributed in no small way to his tragic situation.
Now, here are a few comments from English people (after our own heart!) on one of Alex Belfield's commentaries on Youtube:
"Let's face it most of us have just been getting on with life regardless for months."
"A teacher asked his students to share what their dads do for a living.
Little Johnny said 'my Dad's a stripper at a gay bar'. After class the teacher pulled him aside and said, 'is your dad really a stripper at a gay bar?' 'No he's a reporter for the BBC, but I was too ashamed to say that'."
"I've carried on exactly the same from day one, met all my children and grandchildren. If people can not see the propaganda they're going to drag us all into a totalitarian life. And of course now we are going to blame the unvaccinated for the spread."
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Population - 332,717,317 - (332,680,263) - up 37,054 or 0.01%
Active cases - 5,871,914 - (6,363,131) - down 491,214 or 7.7%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 17,648 - (19,127) - down 1,479 or 7.7%
Surprising that the rate of reduction isn't higher with all the vaccinations. No doubt there's an increase in influenza!!
URUGUAY
Population - 3,484,372 - (3,484,143) - up 229 or 0.007%
Active cases - 30,973 - (27,216) - up 3,757 or 13.8%
Active cases per 1 million of total population - 8,889 - (7,811) - up 1,078 or 13.8%
Heading up further than last week. Very disappointing, especially as we want to go there to look around sometime. At this rate we could be waiting a while!!
UNITED STATES - we don't propose to say too much under this heading - things are becoming so bad thanks to the Biden crooks that we don't know where to start, and most we have said already!! But here goes -
* the southern border - there are still tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors living in squalid and unsafe conditions. In the last 3 months of the Trump administration there were a total of 47 illegal immigrants released into the US; in the first 3 months of Sleepy Joe,
there were 61,000. These crooks aren't fools; it's ALL being done deliberately as part of an overall strategy to destroy the United States.
* Critical Race Theory which basically is teaching that white races carry guilt for being white and that the US is systemically racist is slowly being pushed back. Many states now have passed legislation to ban CRT from being taught in schools. History revision a la the Macron speech circulated yesterday is also being argued against. In particular the 1619 nonsense which teaches that this date marks the start of the USA. This is historical nonsense - the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in 1775 before the original Betsy Ross states won the war of independence against Great Britain. In 1619 there was a ship which had sailed from the Caribbean to Jamestown with a cargo of slaves. But they were not treated as slaves; they were given the status of "indentured servants" - possibly not much difference in practice, but nevertheless an important distinction which gives the lie to all this dangerous wokish nonsense being disgracefully promoted by the woke left.
*Biden has repeatedly plagiarised others' speeches/quotes etc. The latest is an address to a class of graduates of the US Coastguard. He shamelessly plagiarised an address that Ronald Reagan had given in identical circumstances. The only problem was that he completely screwed up the "joke" that he copied from Reagan, and then when no-one laughed, he said "C'mon man, you're a dull class". That last bit would have gone down like a lead balloon. The guy is a congenitally pathetic nonentity - and he's President of the United States. We heard the other day that the US Military still have not passed over the nuclear codes, nor will they give them to any other member of the administration. At least that's re-assuring.
*In the blue state of Oregon there are a number of eastern counties that have voted overwhelmingly to secede and become part of Idaho - a neighbouring red state. It may all be in vain though; it will require a vote agreeing to the move in the Oregon State Senate and then another confirming vote in the US House of Representatives. Neither seem likely! But it's an encouraging sign of the depth of feeling growing all the time against the illegitimate government of the Biden crooks.
* Then there is the on-going issue of racist accusations being leveled by the left to encourage racist riots and unrest generally. The Dims still have the Washington Capitol tied up tighter than the proverbial with razor wire etc to maintain the false narrative that Trump supporters are massing to take over government. And the Speaker, Pelosi, who needs all her orifices stitched up, is still insisting on masks on the floor of the House - failing which Members are fined $500 for a first non-compliant offence and $2,500 for any further offence thereafter. These fines are taken directly from Members' salaries, so there is no possibility of refusing to pay! However, there is now a groundswell movement to challenge all this legally because according to House rules, there is no provision for any such action. But since when have the Dims ever concerned themselves about rules?
* Then we've had the horrifying spectacle of Hammas in Gaza raining at least 2,000 missiles on to Israel - with the sole aim of killing Jews - targeting hospitals and schools. The weakness of the Biden crooks have given tacit encouragement to Hammas, but belatedly Biden has been quoted as saying that Israel is entitled to defend itself. Israel does not need permission from the likes of Biden to take whatever sovereign action it deems necessary; indeed the Israeli PM has said that whatever action it took to defend itself would pale into insignificance if Hammas ever tried anything like that again. And, as Hammas is funded and supplied with military weapons by Iran, there is a distinct possibility that Israel could launch a surgical nuclear strike against Iranian military assets which would neutralise them for many years to come. Iran has always professed annihilation of Israel, so one cannot be surprised if this is an eventual outcome. The weakness of the Biden crooks just makes this scenario more likely than ever.
* Another foreign policy disaster is Biden giving the green light to Russia and Germany to complete the Nordstream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia, down the Baltic Sea to Germany. So, he'll cancel a vital pipeline in the US putting at least 11,000 skilled workers out of work and ruining Trump's achievement of energy self-sufficiency, but directly causing a German dependency on Russian gas and enriching the Russians meantime, and giving them significant leverage over Western Europe. Is this the Hunter Biden connection coming home to roost?
* The US should threaten to totally withdraw from NATO as a result and also withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords, which are just another leftist attack on western economies which must bear the ridiculous cost of all this, whereas China, one of the most polluting nations on the planet, is not required to bear any cost or climate obligation at all. They are building coal-fired power stations flat out and powering them with Australian coal. This is just another blatant attack on "Western" economies.
* The forensic audit in Maricopa County, Arizona is due to start again this week after a forced delay due to the obstructionist tactics of the Electoral Board. It will be fascinating to see what is unearthed because there has to be something significant, due to the extreme efforts, still being pursued by teams of lawyers to frustrate the process. Then the floodgates will open. There is great excitement on various Youtube sites regarding the likelihood of finding substantial electoral fraud. Even President Trump is now weighing in and openly talking about other states who would conduct their own audits. He said quite openly - how can a fraudulent administration govern? The next few weeks/months are going to be fascinating and public opinion at long last is beginning to swing behind the truth, instead of just calling it another conspiracy theory.
COLOMBIA -
Following are this week's concerning headlines from the English language www.colombiareports.com: (you need to go to the Desktop version of the website to view these latest articles)
May 15th. Teenage suicide sparks deadly uprising in southwest Colombia
May 16th. Colombia's anti-government protests swell to historic proportions
May 19th. Colombia sinks healthcare reform amid pressure from anti-government protests
May 20th. Colombia's national security adviser claims opposition "instigates violence"
May 21st. What credit rating? Colombia's police are raping women
May 22nd. Victims from Colombia's warzones granted extra seats in Congress
May 22nd. Colombia's television news: 16 minutes of apocalyptical horror
Latest polling has the extreme leftist presidential candidate, Gustavo Petro in an unassailable lead over his nearest rival, Sergio Fajardo. A result in next year's presidential election which reflected this polling, definitely has the potential to be disastrous for Colombia. But, as we've warned previously, it would be the direct result of a backlash against the present extreme right-wing and corrupt government. We can only hope that the centrist candidate, Sergio Fajardo can either prevail or form an alliance with Petro, but at the moment he is well behind in the polls. Still, 12 months is a long time in politics.
Just had a visit (18/05) from EPS Sura in our apartment at 0700 for a Diabetes check-up. The readings are - fasting 162mg/dl and yesterday non-fasting at 1100 it was 147mg/dl. We think that is good but he said fasting should be 125. Don't know why, and no-one has ever explained it, that fasting should be higher than non-fasting after a plate of fresh Colombian fruit!! Our machine says that high is actually 255-345, so we still think it's not a bad result.The suspicion is that they just want to sell more Metformin. After all the Big Pharma sins of the past, incl. the present vaccination propaganda, we wouldn't trust Big Pharma as far as we could kick them, but of course one must be sensible and tread a cautious centre path that suits yours truly. Only the patient really knows how they feel.
We have been watching with interest the building of an apartment building one block away from us. It has now risen into view (about 15 floors). They have 2 small combustion-engined cranes within the building which hoist loads of mortar and bricks to various floors below, where they are required. Brown brick is the overall dominant material used in construction hereabouts and it gets a bit boring. However, newer buildings do seem to be relieving the incessant brick with alternating finishes. Our building is like that; there is painted plastered brick interspersed with the brick. Of course the main frames of the building are reinforced concrete poured on-site - no pre-stressed beams here.
We are starting to get serious again about selling here and moving "up the hill", albeit to some different property than we looked at before. We want something at ground level where we can walk outside onto a patio or small garden. There are many town-house type developments or terrace house developments (many with swimming pools and/or tennis courts) all in gated communities with 24/7 security, which is a prudent necessity here. The idea of a stand-alone Finca in the country is appealing but the lack of security and also distance to medical facilities, not to mention the work associated with owning land are all at our advanced ages not a good idea. We've both owned land in different places at different times in NZ. But we can achieve our aims with one of the types of property mentioned.
Colombia is generally reasonably safe, even with driving some distances. As long as one stays reasonably on the straight and narrow and the same applies to buying property. It will be good to get away from the big city where we live, but we do enjoy it around here. It is equivalent to "Parnhell" in Auckland!! Very leafy, lots of restaurants and importantly, walkable. So, we will miss all that, but we will not be missing the traffic and very occasionally some pollution as Medellin is situated in the Aburra Valley which does retain any pollution between 1,000 foot hills on each side. The Rio Medellin runs through the valley from south to north with fast-flowing streams coming down through the city to join the main river. And more trees and parks than we have ever seen in a city anywhere. So, it's all very pleasant, but we will enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. Problem is that everywhere that looks like country is being rapidly developed and in a few years will probably become citified. Bit like around here; there are some lovely individual Fincas still here and there but they are between apartment buildings now and very shaded. The owners are probably just sitting on them because the footprints they occupy are becoming very valuable indeed.
On that note our 1100 sq. ft. apartment with a balcony, 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, basement carpark and storage room is we hope worth about the equivalent of NZD 227,000 at present rates of exchange. The equivalent property in Auckland would be worth probably NZ 2 million or more? So, real estate - even a gated 20 acre estate in the hills - is very reasonable by comparison. And the countryside is beautiful, although around here some of it is very steep. Very like NZ in many ways, but it has a tropical appearance with vegetation etc. But lots of ferns, just like the NZ bush. When looking at a lot of the vegetation, you could swear that you were in NZ. But being anywhere between 5 and 8 thousand feet in altitude the climate is cool and spring-like. Some houses, even only 1,000 feet above Medellin, have fire-places. A few weeks ago we visited some American friends who have just bought a Finca in a gated community on a few acres and it was cool during the day. They had a fire burning in the grate. At night it would be duvet weather, and all still at the same latitude (6 degrees north) as Langkawi Is., Malaysia! Auckland is 36 degrees south and Miami is roughly 27 degrees north.
But we definitely prefer some coolness rather than the relentless, sticky tropical heat that we had for 4-5 years on the boat in SE Asia. The other thing here which we like overall is the low humidity. Usually less than 80% and sometimes as low as 60%. However, because it is cool in the evenings in particular, one doesn't necessarily feel thirsty, so it is easy to become dehydrated. But at night we don't need heating or air-conditioning and we have our balcony sliding doors open all the time - however, "up the hill" it may be a little different and we may need a bit of heat at times.
AUSTRALIA - There have been threats from the CCP to launch missile attacks on Australia. And all little old Godszone can do is accuse Australia and its allies (presumably this still includes the US?) of deliberately fomenting aggression and aggressive rhetoric towards the CCP!! This is the most disgusting and traitorous narrative that we have heard in a long time. The CCP are the aggressors here - no-one else. It's a wonder that Canberra still talks to the woke idiots in Wellington.
NEW ZEALAND -
The following should be required reading for All New Zealanders - this is what is happening to your country -
This is an article which appeared in the Sunday Telegraph in the U.K. on the 9th. May - courtesy of our friend, Neil:
"ARDERN ISN'T AS LOVELY AS SHE'D HAVE YOU BELIEVE
From the moment she entered office in 2017, the international coverage of Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, has been nothing short of slavering. Ardern is a female political leader at a time when sections of the press still talk about this as if women politicians are unicorns. A year later she added to that advantage by giving birth while in office, which was reported on as though giving birth while holding down a job is unheard of. Coverage has continued in the same vein ever since, helped by the fact that her more important public statements are delivered with lashings of forced empathy.
But those of us who are allergic to such bogus forms of communication and who judge people by their actions rather than their capabilities at emoting are noticing that, increasingly, Ardern's behaviour stinks.
Last month her oh-so-progressive government made an unprecedented step. It refused to join a Five Eyes statement which was critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Five Eyes intelligence sharing network (the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) is the world's most successful and important intelligence sharing partnership.
In being a member of it, New Zealand is at an extraordinary advantage - an advantage that far outweighs the miniscule resources it actually puts into intelligence or other defence capabilities.
But the refusal was not an oversight by the Ardern government. Rather, it was part of a disgraceful and pro totalitarian political turn. Ardern's foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, said that New Zealand now has a preference for moving on from the Five Eyes alliance and looking for new "multilateral opportunities". Except no such better opportunities exist for such a small and isolated power. What is going on is that sweet, lovely Jacinda Ardern and her government are in the process of seeking as much Chinese investment as possible to boost their economy, and doing everything that the CCP wants to ensure that the investment roars in.
It is a cynical and immoral policy because Ardern knows that Chinese investment always comes with strings attached. Australia welcomed it in the 2000's, only to spend the past decade trying to disentangle itself from the boa constrictor that is the CCP when it moves into any foreign market.
Earlier this week she gave a speech in which she tried to claw back some of her moral capital by insisting that she had raised questions about the CCP's human rights record in private. And she said that she really was worried about how to "reconcile" New Zealand and Chinese Communist Party attitudes towards human rights.
Well, here's a tip. It can't be done. You're either in favour of forced labour camps, neo-colonialism and forced abortions on women who are nine months pregnant, or you're not. Ardern perhaps hopes that we'll glide over these awkward facts. And the international press might well. On Wednesday, the New Zealand Prime Minister announced with wonderful timing that she and her partner have set a "summer wedding" date. So, yay, Sweet Ardern is back. Pity she sold her country."
Another required reading text is Muriel Newman's latest weekly newsletter. In it she spells out just what will happen with coastal properties (ports and marinas included) and the consequences of a racially divided and governed NZ - even more divided than it has been.
People might feel safe locked up in their little bubble at the bottom of the world, but it is an illusion and will all become like fool's gold increasingly trapped in the ever growing socialist and racist web.
Be aware NZ, if you value the country you have known.
Cheers y cordial saludos de la cuidad de primavera eterna.
Jim and Jean
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