BONGHITZ posted:

DEATH

BONGHITZ posted:

DEATH

VectorSigma posted:

many such cases

quote:

Imagine, if you can, what it's like to make decisions on which the lives of tens of thousands of other people depend. If you get things wrong, or delay deciding, they die.

Your decisions affect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, resulting in huge economic disruption, mass layoffs and business closures. Imagine you must act quickly, without having complete certainty your decisions will achieve what you hope.

Now imagine that turning your decisions into effective action depends on winning the support of millions of people.

Yes, you do have enforcement capacity at your disposal. But success or failure hinges on getting most people to choose to follow your leadership – even though it demands sudden, unsettling, unprecedented changes to their daily lives.

quote:

Three communication skills every leader needs

When it comes to assessing New Zealand's public health response, we should all be listening to epidemiologists like Professor Michael Baker. On Friday, Baker said New Zealand had the "most decisive and strongest lockdown in the world at the moment" – and that New Zealand is "a huge standout as the only Western country that's got an elimination goal" for Covid-19.

But how can we assess Ardern's leadership in making such difficult decisions? A good place to start is with American professors Jacqueline and Milton Mayfield's research into effective leadership communication.

The Mayfields' research-based model highlights "direction-giving", "meaning-making" and "empathy" as the three key things leaders must address to motivate followers to give their best.

Being a public motivator is essential for leaders – but it's often done poorly. The Mayfields' research shows direction-giving is typically over-used, while the other two elements are under-used.

Ardern's response to Covid-19 uses all three approaches. In directing New Zealanders to "stay home to save lives", she simultaneously offers meaning and purpose to what we are being asked to do.

quote:

In freely acknowledging the challenges we face in staying home – from disrupted family and work lives, to people unable to attend loved ones' funerals – she shows empathy about what is being asked of us.

The March 23 press conference announcement of New Zealand's lockdown is a clear example of Ardern's skilful approach, comprising a carefully crafted speech, followed by extensive time for media questions.

In contrast, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pre-recorded his March 24 lockdown announcement, offering no chance for questions from the media, while framing the situation as an "instruction" from government, coupled with a strong emphasis on enforcement measures.

quote:

Also consistent with Heifetz's teachings, she has regulated distress by developing a transparent framework for decision-making – the government's alert level framework – allowing people to make sense of what is happening and why.

Importantly, that four-level alert framework was released and explained early, two days before a full lockdown was announced, in contrast with the prevarication and sometimes confusing messages from leaders in countries such as Australia and the UK.

quote:

For Grint, leadership involves persuading the collective to take responsibility for collective problems. Much of the prime minister's public commentary has been dedicated to exactly that – and it's been overwhelmingly effective, at least so far, with a recent poll showing 80% support for the government's response to Covid-19.

Grint also argues that when dealing with "wicked problems" – which are complex, contentious and cannot be easily resolved – leaders must ask difficult questions that disrupt established ways of thinking and acting.

It's clear this has happened in New Zealand, as shown in the suite of initiatives the government has taken to respond to the pandemic, including its decision to move to a national lockdown relatively fast compared to many – though not all – countries.

quote:

Of course, not everything has been perfect in New Zealand's or Ardern's Covid-19 response. Ongoing, independent scrutiny of the government's response is essential.

BONGHITZ posted:

DEATH

Mourne posted:

I’ve been buy whole chickens and butchering them myself at home.

you can use the bones and carcass to make stock which can be frozen.

nothing is wasted

twoday posted:

I do not praise death. I do not lust for death. I do not like death. I find it especially despicable when people cheer for the death of any particular group of people, be that group delineated by race, age, or any other vague criterium. By cheering for the death of a large group of people you don’t know, you are probably also cheering for the death of certain individuals within that group who are good people, and without whom humanity would be worse of. I find it disgusting, and it sets a dangerous precedent if this behavior becomes acceptable. Today we cheer for the death of these, tomorrow for the death of those other ones. You know how that story ends.

Regardless of your politics, whether you were for or against Brexit, pro-Tory, pro-Labour, pro-Scottish Independence, or whatever else, we probably all agree that Boris Johnson has made some mistakes over the past few weeks. Maybe he shouldn’t have been shaking hands with coronavirus patients in the hospital, as he claimed he did in a recent speech. Given his current condition, it’s pretty drat hard to argue that this was a wise decision.

Beyond that, opinions may differ a bit about what he should have done or not done. Maybe he should have done a lockdown sooner. Maybe he should have taken things more seriously. Maybe he should have done this or that. The fact is, as prime minister of the United Kingdom, he has been the single-most important and influential individual with regards to shaping his country’s response to this crisis. The weight of the situation in Britain now, where nearly 700 people died just yesterday, falls squarely upon his shoulders.

By having access to just about anyone in the country to appoint as his advisors, as well as information from one of the most competent intelligence networks in the world (if you believe that such a thing can exist), and also some of most highly esteemed universities on earth, one would think that he has no good excuse to pretend that he was not adequately aware of the potential seriousness of this months ago. Even if he had none of these things and got all his information from a newspaper subscription, he should have noticed that there was deadly epidemic spreading through China in January. It is his responsibility as prime minister to be aware of and to prepare for such threats to his country.

Yet he did not do so. Perhaps he wrongly appointed corrupt and Machiavellian advisors to surround him, or perhaps there was a fault in the ideology to which he subscribes, or perhaps it was simply just his own personal inadequacies and poor judgement, but whatever the reason, he is supposed to be responsible for what’s happening in the U.K. now. He is responsible for the thousands of dead, he is responsible for the government’s response, and he is especially responsible for all the reassuring words which he spoke to the public in the early stages of this disaster.

He shouldn’t have downplayed the potential of an outbreak, or the seriousness of the disease. He shouldn’t have encouraged people to shake hands. He shouldn’t have waited so long to take serious measures. But he did. He even promoted the idea of herd immunity and said that he wanted the majority of his citizens to become infected, an idea which has since spread abroad and is killing people in other countries right now. He hosed up really badly, and though it’s impossible to calculate how many people’s deaths he is responsible for, he has blood on his hands. His decisions and actions have led to the deaths of many people.

And now, as he lies fearful and struggling to breathe in one of the overcrowded hospitals of the National Healthcare System which he and his party worked so hard to underfund, dismantle, and sell off to the highest bidder, he is himself now confronted with the cold & grim spectre of death. He must have thought about it, realized that it’s possible that this infection might end up burying him, and that his partner might soon be widowed, that his children might soon be fatherless. Yet I find it hard to pity him. The hell which he currently occupies is the result of his own reckless choices, the ultimate manifestation of the selfish laissez-faire decision-making process to which he subscribes. Of course I feel bad for his family, I’m not a heartless monster. But I also feel bad for the hundreds of other families who have lost someone recently because of him and his foolish choices. How many hundreds of people does a man need to kill before you stop pitying him? How many thousands?

I understand the impulse to chastise C-SPAM for cheering someone’s death. Like I said, I do not like death, and I’m not a heartless monster. I grasp the scope of this individual’s tragedy. But to many people in the UK, Boris Johnson is death. Many, many people are dying as the result of his actions, and many more will die in the weeks to come. If he ends up in the midst of the pile of corpses which he created, I’m not going to cry about it. And if he lives I hope he is prosecuted at the ICC for criminal negligence.

If you’re seeking a moral high-ground, I advise you find one somewhere far away from this wretched man who decided to put the welfare of the markets before the lives of his fellow human beings.

jetz0r posted:

https://twitter.com/limbschant/status/1207258996996018182

Solarin posted:

can you butcher them with a lovely chefs knife decently? I've been wanting to learn but have trash knives

Solarin posted:

twoday posted:

https://twitter.com/onionweigher/status/1246928763935494145?s=20

coke posted:

in some decent non-insane news

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12322719







So far there's 1 death in the country of about 5 million people, with about 1.1k total cases

Also they are testing a queuing in your car system for grocery stores where you text them to check in while you can chill in your car till they text you back.

Solarin posted:

can you butcher them with a lovely chefs knife decently? I've been wanting to learn but have trash knives

Mr. Lobe posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9oW91Iv8D8

us christianity is some wild poo poo

Judge Dredd Scott posted:

get a water stone, they're life changing in terms of knife upkeep

coke posted:

in some decent non-insane news

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12322719







So far there's 1 death in the country of about 5 million people, with about 1.1k total cases

Also they are testing a queuing in your car system for grocery stores where you text them to check in while you can chill in your car till they text you back.

Judge Dredd Scott posted:

get a water stone, they're life changing in terms of knife upkeep

Griefor posted:

I saw that speech by Ardern and gently caress I wish we had a leader like that over here. I didn't analyse it deeply like that article does but it was clear from the surface that it was excellent.

LimburgLimbo posted:

Just wait until it spreads to sheep then you guys are hosed

BARONS CYBER SKULL posted:

Aww

coke posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShWPNtell50


that's the aussies

people in nz do have a lot of cats though

twoday posted:

Kind of funny that it was announced 3 days ago that the queen would give an uplifting address on tv at 8 pm on Sunday, which also turned out to be the same time that the prime minister was admitted to the hospital. What a curious and unlikely coincidence

Charles 2 of Spain posted:

Imagine if Collins was in charge right now

Charles 2 of Spain posted:

Imagine if Collins was in charge right now

somnambulist posted:

Are the projection models for https://covid19.healthdata.org pretty decent so far or nah?

California was seeing about 6000 deaths by August just a few weeks ago on this site and it’s dropped to 1783 today. I’m really hoping this means Cali won’t be hit as hard.

Solarin posted:

can you butcher them with a lovely chefs knife decently? I've been wanting to learn but have trash knives

twoday posted:

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1246532925534896129?s=20