What great news! Christchurch mosque attacks: Gunman pleads guilty to all charges
The man [accused of 2019] Christchurch mosque attacks … pleaded guilty to all the charges he was facing … admitted 51 of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one under the Terrorism Suppression Act.
Recently added items at the Department of Obsolete Phrases:
- Cooee, anyone home?
- While you were out…
- I was hoping I’d catch you at home.
When our lives go sideways
When World War 2 broke out my parents were in their early 20s. Dad was sent off to war and ended up in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp for 3+ years. I can't imagine that's what he expected for his life.
Mum stayed at home in London, England, working as a typist for the government. Mum endured rationing, blackouts and bombings.
That's pretty much all I know about their lives at that time, though I also know there was rationing for years after the war ended.
The point is everyone at that time endured straitened circumstances, and the horrors of war.
Now, some 80 years later, the world has gone sideways again, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries are handling it in their own different ways.
Everything has changed though: most travel has ceased, we're all advised to keep our distance from others and wash our hands a lot and thoroughly. Events huge, big and small have been cancelled, churches closed, hotels emptied of their visitors who have been going back to their own countries. That means that everyone involved in any tourist industry has probably lost their job.
I'm lucky enough to be in Aotearoa New Zealand where the government has taken swift and effective actions to prevent and control the spread of the virus. They restricted entry, used self-isolation, contact tracking and information campaigns. Now that there is probably community transmission we have entered Alert Level 4 and we are all expected to stay home unless we are a worker in an essential service or are getting food or medical attention.
Everything has changed, almost by the minute, over the last few weeks. Everyone in the world is vulnerable to this virus and stats from some other countries have been horrific.
This is a time where absolutely everyone is uncertain about pretty much everything.
Our government is a coalition of the Labour, NZ First and Green parties, under the leadership of Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. They have exhibited the most stunning leadership in this time of crisis. Their actions have been humane, science-based and authoritative. Their messaging has been a model of excellence.
They have come up with and implemented sensible and far-reaching policies with enormous speed, and released vast amounts of clear and accurate information. Their first concern has been the welfare of people, without forgetting the systems of our society, such as business, trade and the economy.
And while I'm no fan of the current opposition, the National Party, even they, after a bit of a stumble at first, have been sane and sensible in their support of the government's measures.
Our country is united in its determination to stop this virus from devastating our population.
Our Prime Minister is clearly exhausted, but at every press conference she remains unfailingly calm, clear, authoritative, friendly and patient. I can't imagine how she can possibly do all that.
Tonight we received an Emergency Alert about the conditions that take effect from midnight. Separately and together we'll do our bit to keep all of us safe and healthy. My parents had to do their bit in the war. Now it's my turn to do my bit for my country. At the end of this we'll be different, stronger perhaps. We'll definitely have a different perspective on our lives. I hope we use this time to figure out how to do better than we were doing before this crisis.
Ah, finally someone has broached the subject we don’t want to think about. In Aotearoa New Zealand we always expect an earthquake. What say we have a significant quake while in Shutdown? The excellent answer: we’ve thought about and are planning for that.
So very pleased to hear our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, switching from the word ‘lockdown’ to ‘shutdown’. Lockdown connotes house arrest and probably contributes to panic buying. Shutdown also clarifies that people can actually go out if they need to.
Capons! Who knew I knew that word!? One of the things I love about @danielpunkass Black Ink - Solve Crossword Puzzles With Style is that it drags these extraordinary words from the most profound depths of my brain. Also, it makes me actively love English every single day.
Aotearoa New Zealand is now pretty much in lockdown. Level 3 alert, but in 2 days time, Level 4 where businesses are closed and we must stay home. These are very good measures.
Supermarket limits.
NZ’s leading health professionals and relevant scientists are all saying we should go to Level 4 lockdown right now. We have 66 cases at the moment, and thankfully, zero deaths.
OK, this morning I’ve had my seasonal flu shot. The road was quieter than usual.
Hmmm, 11pm and I ought to be asleep.
Went with a friend to a cafe for breakfast this morning. Cafe capacity has been reduced(?) to 80 and we had to sign a register on arrival. Fair enough too. 🦠
I love the rare occasion when I meet online pals in real life. @JohnPhilpin visited today and I enjoyed our chat. Here we are giving each other space on the deck at my place. 😀 Nano micro meetup.
This 7 minute doco is something for our cat lovers: Fishing Cat: The Cat That Hunts Underwater. 🐈
Life in the mangroves of South Asia is difficult, but there’s one creature in this swamp that’s defying the odds, and our expectations at the same time. This is the Fishing Cat.
My favourite quote, now we’ve learned folks 70+ should stay home:
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters:
Winston Peters will continue business as usual in his role of Deputy PM despite being over 70.
Some fisher lost this, presumably crab pot.
The last numerous episodes of Legends of Tomorrow have been irritatingly sidetracked by silly old Constantine (pah!). S05E07 Romeo v Juliet, Dawn of Justness finally got it back to being the fun show it used to be. Hilariously chaotic and wonderful. Screenshot from link above.
So, Aotearoa New Zealand’s borders are closed to all except returning Kiwis.
The ban applies to people not product, and those staffing freight ships and planes are not included.
A couple of tourists who refused to self-isolate have been deported too. 👍
Earlier I noticed Oshi licking rather than drinking from the dogs water fountain. Then I realised that since there was a scheduled power outage, he couldn’t get any water. I took the top off so they could just drink from the bowl. New subdivision nearby means new switch box. 🐶
About blimmin time!! Parliament removes abortion from Crimes Act - Beehive.govt.nz
Abortion has been removed from the Crimes Act under a new law passed by Parliament today.