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Member's Off-site Blogs
shifting the narrative...
doll
Barbie maker Mattel has created a doll of the scientist who designed the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert.
Dame Sarah said she found the creation "very strange" at first - but she hoped it would inspire children.
"My wish is that my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist," she said.
Her Barbie is one of five to honour women working in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).
The others include an Australian medic who helped create a reusable gown for health workers, and a Brazilian biomedical researcher.
Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58077396
MEANWHILE:
After 46 days cooped up at Kirribilli House and The Lodge, being pummelled with blame for endless lockdowns, a bruised Prime Minister emerged from isolation this week determined to shift the narrative.
Armed with new vaccination targets and the promise of greater freedom, Scott Morrison is determined to focus debate on the future rather than the past.
With his political fate now tied to achieving the 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination thresholds agreed "in principle" by National Cabinet, Morrison is trying to stir the nation to get a jab, any jab, as quickly as possible.
But that doesn't mean he's necessarily willing to throw everything at it. There are limits, apparently, to how far the Prime Minister will go, as his reaction to Labor's cash-for-jab idea revealed.
He ridiculed the proposal for a $300 vaccine payment as "insulting", "a vote of no confidence in Australians" and a "game show" approach. It was the sort of political attack typical of the pre-pandemic era; if an idea has been put forward by the other side, it must be terrible.
Read more:
FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW !!!!
- By Gus Leonisky at 5 Aug 2021 - 5:32am
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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unlocked lockdowns...
For months, members of the Morrison government have spoken derisively about the economic cost of Victoria’s lockdowns while praising New South Wales’ more relaxed approach – that was until Covid-19 outran the Berejiklian government’s approach. The Doherty Institute has now confirmed that locking down quickly leads to significantly less economic damage in the long run. The prime minister Scott Morrison and treasurer Josh Frydenberg were quick to flip their message and spout the benefits of short, sharp lockdowns
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2021/aug/04/lockdown-backflip-australian-government-changes-its-tone-on-effectiveness-of-lockdowns-video
polishing his carrots...
As Scott Morrison approaches three years as Prime Minister, an achievement in its own right, it is also right that Australians consider whether over that time he has grown into his job or if he has shrivelled.
It’s fair enough to ask if Morrison has proved he is up to it, whether he has the courage, the ability and the wisdom to continue to see the country through these most testing times.
If you believe the polls, more and more Australians are nudging towards saying no: he does not. They question whether he has the physical, intellectual or mental ability or even the empathy to lead, to earn trust, build coalitions, forge consensus, or to be something more than a moneybags, a punching bag or a spokesman for the premiers.
During his tenure Morrison has fallen short on three critical occasions. The first was during the bushfires when he snuck off to Hawaii. He showed no grace and little remorse after he was forced to return by saying people did not expect him to hold a hose, mate.
The second was underestimating the depth of feeling among women demanding change after hearing Grace Tame’s powerful advocacy and Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations. Even after his wife Jenny explained the significance to him, Morrison told the thousands who protested they were lucky not to live in a country where they could be shot for demonstrating.
The third is the travesty of the vaccination rollout, a rolling unmitigated disaster plagued by inadequate supplies, poor planning, and contradictory messaging which he sought to mask by telling Australians weeks after he had received his first Pfizer shot, that it was not a race, feeding both complacency and hesitancy.
Read more:
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/damaged-not-destroyed-pm-in-trouble-but-could-again-land-on-his-feet-20210804-p58fv3.html
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nothing learnt...