Witness to an unearthly event
Surely I was not the sole witness to the spectacular sight of the large meteorite bursting into Earth’s atmosphere about 1.40 on Thursday morning (27 August)? I’ve been scanning the news, to no avail, for enthusiastic reports and magnificent photos of the event.
I was alerted by the bedroom suddenly flooding with intense bright white light from the northwest. The sky was of similar hue and a ball, which appeared to be the size of the moon I’d been watching earlier in the west, shone and quivered as it fell towards the ground. If it appeared at that size on entering the atmosphere, it must have been mighty big.
It was all over within minutes, the ball extinguished or burnt out, leaving just a few drifts of bright sparks floating earthwards. The sky returned to darkness. No, it was not a dream. It was for real, and an amazing oncein-a-lifetime sight.
Joan Leversedge
Whangarei
Taiwan diplomacy
When asked about Taiwan’s alleged success with Covid-19, the WHO’s standard response has been that they had “already talked to China”, supporting Beijing’s claim of Taiwan as a province. Sadly, the WHO seems more interested in political relationships than in preserving health. Surely the need for answers to save lives (and jobs) must transcend any political need to cosy up to dictatorships?
NZ could be well suited to adopt Taiwan’s strategy because we are small enough to be flexible, versatile and adaptable for any necessary changes. Also, we have proven ourselves to be dutiful in locking down to eradicate the virus (temporarily) — an essential quality. And like Taiwan, we have a pretty decent moat.
NZ does not recognise Taiwan diplomatically as an independent democracy. PM Ardern and Dr Bloomfield routinely refer to WHO guidelines in combating the pandemic and PM Ardern refers to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei”, as named by the CCP. Can we hope for our Government to start looking for those answers independently of the WHO? A significant obstacle for PM Ardern is the MoU she signed last year for the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Will anyone start looking for those answers?
John Matthews, Mangonui
Mask mandate
According to the dictionary a “mandate” is an authoritive command. To have the wearing of masks, confinement during Covid-19 levels, a limit on number of people congregating, two weeks in managed isolation, etc. are all requirements, mandated by the government!
What is the point of these mandatory requirements if they are just ignored by ignorant, egocentric people? We may as well say do not bother, as there are no consequences handed out. People will always comply when they realise the consequence means that they will lose something, e.g. a driver’s licence, incarceration, or a sizeable fine. To date there have been extremely few of these handed out during Covid-19 lockdowns. Why are government and police taking such a softly, softly approach? Rules and laws are meant to protect the population and not there to be flouted. It is frustrating to see people who have been informed of these rules on a daily basis laughing at the authories because they know there will be no consequences.
It basically sums up the attitude of today’s society.
Marie Kaire Ngararatunua