https://apple.news/AqDXX3GD9SDG254pwifBSoQ
Yay the Matilda’s of Australia have made it into the FIFA Womens World Cup knockout round. Feeling pleased
Regards to all
Wow, 97.7% of eligible Australians have registered to vote and as voting is compulsory in Australia whatever the outcome of the referendum on the Voice to Parliament for indigenous Australians in October virtually the whole country would have had a say one way or the other.
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Hi everyone
Quoting from the article
For a number of years, some scientists have been asking – have we got it all wrong about the cause of Alzheimer’s disease?
Despite the mountain of money spent on experimental drugs designed to remove those clumps – with some over-hyped and modest gains – there’s not been a lot of meaningful progress in stopping the disease.
An exciting study from St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, published this week) has shown that the breakdown of synapses (connections between brain cells) may be the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s.
It’s thought that synapses are essential to memory formation, but this has not been proven.
Have a read, Wouldn’t it be great if this is a breakthrough in treatment and cure.
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Hi,
The No vote has won. I am attaching an article about it.
Some extracts from the article
Calling for an end to “academics and activists” thinking they knew better than people on the ground in remote communities, she said that a new way of thinking was required.
“We should not maintain the racism of low expectations in this country,’’ she said. “We are all part of the fabric of this nation.”
Senator Price said she wanted to thank the Australian people for “believing in our nation.”
“The Australian people have overwhelmingly voted No. They have said No to division in our Constitution along the lines of race,” she said.
“They have said No to the gas-lighting, bullying, to the manipulation. They have said No to grievance and the push from activists to suggest that we are a racist country when we are absolutely not a racist country.
But from her entry to federal politics just last year, there has been no ignoring Senator Price.
She had a powerful role in steering the Liberal Party to embrace the No vote and the campaign that followed.
Senator Price has argued a Voice would “constitutionally enshrine” a victimhood mentality in the country.
“It doesn’t belong here,” she said.
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Another aricle
“We are not Yes voters or No voters, we are all Australians. And it is as Australians, together, that we must take our country beyond this debate without forgetting why we had it in the first place.”
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New Zealand also voted yesterday and they voted out the Labour Party that had been led by Jacinta Ardern and have voted in a more right leaning party. They wanted change.
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@baba so many of us are grieving this outcome today. It is a sad day for our country
@matildagirl I'm from the US, so I am trying to learn what this means for New Zealanders. Do you see a big swing to the right, or something more moderate? Does the new government want to undo the Labour Party laws, or just pass new laws to help bring down the costs of living?
@kathleen Hi, I don’t know a lot about NZ politics, I do know that they weren’t as enamoured with Jacinta as the rest of the world was. They voted Labour in with a majority but they didn’t feel they had performed well and the cost of living and housing costs etc (like the rest of the world) so it was probably more for a change to see what the National party could do to help rather than a lurch to right.
They have the MMP system of government so National will have to join with another party ACT to work as a coalition to have the majority in the Government. Labour didn’t win enough seats to do that so they will be in opposition. The voting isn’t complete yet so they may need to have a third party to join the coalition as well. Most of their governments have been coalitions between different parties, the election before when labour won a majority in their own right was the first time something like that had happened and it appears they may have squandered that majority by not delivering what they had promised and were punished.
If National don’t deliver better outcomes for the majority of Kiwis they may be gone next election.
Regards to all
@matildagirl Thanks, I read the article and appreciate your sharing your thoughts. I was saddened and disappointed by Jacinda's sudden departure, but hoped that Labour could step up and meet the needs of its citizens. Appears like the effects of pandemic and isolation took its toll. Being an American, I am unfortunately unused to flexible approaches to governing, so I respect countries that have the agility to move more quickly to effect improvements. No doubt New Zealanders are fed up with high costs, but they also seem fair-minded about equal rights. Is my take about right, or, do you feel otherwise?
@kathleen Hi Kathleen, I don’t live in NZ but go each year to visit family over there. Part of Labours loss is also attributed to their push for co governance with Māori and also the push for changing place names and possibly even the country’s name and bringing in Te Reo (the language) basically going to far to fast on that sort of thing rather than the helping business hit so badly with Covid, Cyclone Gabrielle, the nurse shortages, the housing crisis, wages and jobs, the stuff that actually matters to people’s well-being.
As everywhere no matter what country on earth you live there is alway predjudice of some kind, they aren’t immune but probably better than most.
Regards
Matildagirl
@matildagirl Yes, I can see how the train just went too fast for everyone to get on board, lol!
@kathleen Hi, you might be interested in this. Another difference to Americas system.
The final vote and therefore the official election results won’t be announced until November 3. So why does it take an extra three weeks from election day for the official results to be known?
Regards
Matildagirl
@matildagirl Thanks! It appears that the local electorates do the counting and recounting of the votes in this system, a good thing, and similar to how it's done in the US. However, I can't imagine how NZ's thorough process would work in the US given the melodrama that has followed our recent elections :)
@14mamajo I noticed that for the first time that the NZ first party had gained a sizeable foothold in the newly forming party. Seems like this conservative dynamic is seeping into even the most progressive of countries. Let me know if I got this wrong.
Hi Kathleen
Here is an article on Winston Peters the founder and leader of NZFirst. The comeback kid.
Auckland | One thing’s certain in New Zealand politics – you can never discount Winston Peters.
The 78-year-old populist has done it again, leading his New Zealand First Party back into parliament in Saturday’s election, with 6.5 per cent of the vote and eight lawmakers. It’s the third time in his 44-year career that Peters has returned from the political wilderness.
Regards
Matildagirl