Surely the preliminary report of the WHO investigators is good news – certainly puts the hypothesis that Covid-19 leaked from a research lab in the bin. Isn t that a relief? After all, why on earth would anyone hope that hypothesis was true?
Peter Daszak, a British-American member of the WHO team in Wuhan, previously told USA TODAY that in peoples imaginations there might be this image of one person in a lab in China who drops a petri dish and that somehow leads to a massive outbreak. It s just not like that. Every year there are millions of people going in bat caves and hunting and eating wildlife. It happens every day.
No Right Turn wrote last week:
The Auckland Council will soon be consulting on a Regional Land Transport Plan, setting their transport priorities (and funding) for the next decade. Obviously, this will have a huge impact on the city’s emissions profile. And to make sure they think hard about that, Lawyers for Climate Action is threatening to take them to court if they get it wrong:
Climate change lobbyists are warning Auckland Council it could face legal action if its decisions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions fall short of promises made.The message came from Lawyers for Climate Action during a presentation to the council’s planning committee on Thursday.
Welcome to The Spinoff's live updates for February 9. Keep The Spinoff ticking by donating here.
6.45pm: The day in sum
Following the military coup in Myanmar, New Zealand suspended political contact with the country.
National’s leader Judith Collins confirmed her support for a proposed ban on
Written By: advantage - Date published: 11:18 am, February 7th, 2021 - 42 comments
No good citizen in their right mind would want to see democracy further eroded in the United States of America. Cold cash and mercantilist in all levels of political process have lowered – shall we say Trumped – how the United States is perceived internationally. President Biden set out his thoughts for the world to consider yesterday.
New Zealand is one of our closest friends and partners. The unbreakable bond we share was established when the first US Consul to New Zealand was on hand to witness the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on February 6, 1840.”