The Guardian reports Essential Research’s latest weekly reading of concern about coronavirus finds satisfaction with the government’s handling of the crisis up two points to 65%, its best result yet out of the five such polls that have been published (no sign yet of the poor rating, which hit a new low of 17% – the full report later today should reveal all).
Last week’s question on state governments’ responses was repeated this week, and with due regard to sample sizes that run no higher than around 320 (and not even in triple figures in the case of South Australia), the good ratings have been 56% last week and 61% for New South Wales; 76% and 70% for Victoria; 52% and 63% for Queensland; 79% and 77% for Western Australia; and 72% and 66% for South Australia. Combining the results gives New South Wales 58.5% and Victoria 73% with error margins of about 3.7%; Queensland 57.5% from 4.6%; Western Australia 78% from 5.5%; and South Australia 69% from 6.9%.
Also included are Essential’s occasion question on trust in various institutions, which suggests that all of the above might be benefiting from a secular effect that has federal parliament up from 35% to 53% and the ABC up from 51% to 58%. The effect is more modest for the Australian Federal Police, up two points to 68%. In other coronavirus-related findings, the poll finds “half of all voters think it’s too soon to even consider easing restrictions“, with a further 14% saying they are prepared to wait until the end of May; that 38% said they would download the virus-tracing app, with 63% saying they had security concerns and 35% being confident the data would not be misused.
UPDATE: Full report here.
Sir John Houghton, renowned climate scientist who led IPCC reports, dies at 88 from coronavirus. (Washington Post)
max @ #549 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 7:57 am
Some would be appalled. Not many.
lizzie @ #562 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 8:29 am
Little Joshie Highpants is feeling 5’6” these days. Getting a bit full of himself.
lizzie @ #592 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:22 am
It’s incorrect though. If the book shop is open it’s considered an essential service and everyone can go there and buy books (subject to the one-person-per-4-sqm restriction when in the store). Or at least, that’s the advice in QLD.
a r
Don’t be picky. We all understand the joke. 🙂
Taz: “As for Tasmania’s response overall: we did the lowest amount of testing of any state … up to two weeks ago, when we crept to the second lowest. We also refused to test anyone regardless of symptoms, unless they had been overseas or been in the company of a confirmed case.”
Yes, I’ve noted that the testing rates were initially very low, but – apart from the two cases at Mersey, which I understand they eventually got to the bottom of – there has been no doubt about the source of transmission for any existing case. So, up to when the N-W outbreak began, it’s arguable that all the people who needed to be tested were tested.
And now there is a much wider testing regime, and it’s focused on the N-W. And, I trust, it will be expanded in time to the rest of Tasmania. But, where I live in Hobart, there doesn’t seem to be much demand at all. Doctors say that they are only encountering a handful of people who believe they have symptoms, and none of these are testing positive. The people working at the drive-through facility at Salamanca continue to have the loneliest jobs in Tasmania.
Perhaps, outside of Burnie, there just aren’t any cases in Tasmania. I certainly hope so.
BK @ #546 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 7:53 am
This was inevitable. I thought it would take longer 🙁
lizzie @ #594 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:22 am
Just email the PMO and ask for a pirated digital copy. No need for a bookstore.
lizzie @ #594 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:22 am
Mal should have released it printed on a jigsaw puzzle. Would have been about as interesting even if you assembled it wrong.
$39.30 per mask?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-22/medical-supply-company-charging-$786-for-single-box-of-masks/12166438
ar,
I am not wasting this pandemic.
I am re-reading the whole Michael Connelly Detective Thriller series. Only a couple more to go.
V P
Always thinking outside the box. 🙂
I doubt that Bill Shorten has read many books.
a r @ #600 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:31 am
Hey AR, why did the chicken cross the road?
It’s not a test, we’ve just always wanted to know.
I had thought to render the latest regarding Karl until the following caught my eye
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/pets-and-wildlife/vote-now-for-australias-top-dog/image-gallery/f41f13d57517e8509315f6b806c17986
Some samples —
mundo: “Gold plated Zinger.”
Yes, quite amusing, although perhaps not quite as good as Latham’s “I won’t be reading Kevin Rudd’s memoirs because I don’t enjoy fiction.”
Anyway, Turnbull’s book – although certain to be long-winded – will most likely be far more interesting than Bill’s autobiography, whenever that gets written. Whatever one might think of him, Turnbull has actually led an extremely interesting life, culminating in becoming PM.
It bothers me that Shorten just won’t get out of Parliament and find something else to do with the rest of his life. After the damage Rudd did (and, to some extent, Beazley when Crean was opposition leader), Labor really doesn’t need another Ghost of Christmas Past.
There are only two deposed party leaders in the past few decades who have remained in parliament and haven’t continued to agitate against their successors: Downer and, further back, Bill Hayden. Of course, neither of them could ever have had the remotest chance of mounting a serious challenge.
meher baba (AnonBlock)
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:37 am
Comment #606
“Perhaps, outside of Burnie, there just aren’t any cases in Tasmania. I certainly hope so.”
Without wider testing how would we know? I suppose the hospitals would have more pneumonia cases turning up if it were more wide spread.
I’m in Launceston. There is little to no general knowledge of the drive-through here although I am aware that the PTB were proposing one. A work colleague had various symptoms, fronted to the clinic who were very reluctant to test her unless she was a health worker.
nath
I want a reference for that, please.
Gosh, I wonder if The Donald will help Donald with Donald’s hotel or will Donald stand up to Donald and tell him…something about snowballs springs to mind.
This unintentionally hilarious line from Eric almost made me choke on my coffee, ““Just treat us the same,” Eric Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. “Whatever that may be is fine.” See, we’re just like everyone else except my daddy is the Child in Chrage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/trump-hotel-coronavirus.html
lizzie
That reply now makes two of us 🙂
KJ
You left out the natural winner:
Greensborough Growler @ #351 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:40 am
Good plan. I am reading my way (backwards) through all of Dean Koontz’ books.
I quite enjoyed the “Bosch” TV presentations and the Mickey Haller movies are not too bad. I will try to get “The Gods of Guilt” later today.
Good post. Thanks VM. 📚
GoldenSmaug @ #150 Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 – 11:58 am
Not having a go but how far do we allow the market to rule?
Does market rule flow down to all business that governments support/subsidise such as mining companies, media regulation/quotas, day care centres, elderly care centres, health insurance funds, etc.
Mmmmm what about the farming/agricultural industry that governments continually save from failing year after year during droughts, fires, floods, ect. and currently government is handing out money like there was no tomorrow to keep tens of thousands of small businesses from failing.
Or does this letting businesses fail and let the market sort it out only apply to a select few?
Taz: “A work colleague had various symptoms, fronted to the clinic who were very reluctant to test her unless she was a health worker.”
Yes, I heard similar stories in Hobart early on, but they seem to be testing anyone who wants one now.
I think they could promote the availability of testing a bit more: I hadn’t heard about the drive-through down here before I actually saw it.
lizzie says:
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 9:45 am
nath
I want a reference for that, please.
______________________
I’ll grant you that he’s probably read every book written by Peter FitzSimons.
Third from bottom left is a Bernese Mountain puppy.
As an owner, he/she wins
KayJay @ #621 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:50 am
Didn’t he do the one where the crazy-rich (and crazy) technologist has a fetish for sensory-deprivation pods and injects everyone in town (and a bunch of animals, mostly dogs) with nanobots or somesuch, causing them all to become violent, nigh-invincible killing machines?
That was a good one.
Shellbell @ #626 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:56 am
The Rod Stewart of the dog world ?
KayJay
“I quite enjoyed the “Bosch” TV presentations”
Better than the books, IMHO. The books are fun, but written in a slightly pedestrian and repetitive style. The TV show is very classy, and the actors are great.
nath
I’m disappointed in you. At the very least I expected a list of 25 books on Napoleon he has ‘allegedly’ read.
Vogon Poet @ #361 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:50 am
Very handsome – and the runner up is
Vogon Poet
Fans of bull terriers might like to follow Rex the Bull Terrier on Twitter. @rexthetvterrier
There are only two real dogs in the world.
and
poroti says:
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 9:59 am
nath
I’m disappointed in you. At the very least I expected a list of 25 books on Napoleon he has ‘allegedly’ read.
______________________
Asprey, Robert. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. (2002); 2 vol, 1200pp; popular biography focusing on the military
Barnett, Corelli. Bonaparte (1978)
Dwyer, Philip. Napoleon: The Path to Power (2008), to 1799
Emsley, Clive. Napoleon 2003 142 pp, very succinct coverage of life, France and empire; little on warfare
Cronin, Vincent. Napoleon (1971), favorable popular bio
Dwyer, Philip. Napoleon: The Path to Power (2008), 672 pp; vol 1 of major new biography, to 1799
Ellis, Geoffry. Napoleon (1997)
Englund, Steven. Napoleon: A Political Life. (2004). 575 pages; the best (and most advanced) political biography; thin on military
Falk, Avner. Napoleon Against Himself: A Psychobiography (2007) offers novel explanations for his many irrational, self-defeating, and self-destructive actions.
Fisher, Herbert. Napoleon (1913) 256pp old classic online edition
Fournier, August. Napoleon the First: A Biography (1903); 836 pages; excellent old biography online edition
Herold, J. Christopher. The Age of Napoleon (1963) 480pp, popular history stressing empire and diplomacy
Johnson, Paul. Napoleon: A Penguin Life. (2002). 208 pp.
Lefebvre, Georges: Napoleon, (2 vol. 1935; English translation 1969), influential French perspective
Markham, Felix. Napoleon 1963. 304pp online edition
McLynn, Frank. Napoleon: A Biography (2003) 752pp, stress on military
Roberts, Andrew. Napoleon: A Life (2014)
Rose, John Holland. The Life of Napoleon I: Including New Materials from the British Official Records, (2 vol 1903), old but solid scholarship; online edition vol 2
Schom, Alan. Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life (1997), 944pp; argues Napoleon was a paranoiac psychopath
Thompson, J. M. Napoleon Bonaparte: His Rise and Fall (1954)
Tulard, Jean. Napoleon: The Myth of the Saviour (1985), influential French biography
Woloch, Isser. Napoleon and His Collaborators: the making of a dictatorship (2001)
Zamoyski, Adam. Napoleon: A Life (2018)
Adkin, Mark. The Waterloo Companion: The Complete Guide to History’s Most Famous Land Battle (2002) 448pp excerpt and text search
Arnold, James R. Napoleon Conquers Austria: The 1809 Campaign for Vienna. (1995). 247 pp. excerpt and text search
Bell, David A. The First Total War: Napoleon’s Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It (2008) excerpt and text search
Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon: the Mind and Method of History’s Greatest Soldier (1973), 1216 pp; experts call it the best military synthesis
Cole, Juan. Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East (2007) excerpts and online search from Amazon.com
Connelly, Owen. Blundering to Glory: Napoleon’s Military Campaigns (2nd ed 2006) negative on Napoleon’s skills
Coote, Stephen. Napoleon and the Hundred Days. (2005). 320 pp.
Dodge, Theodore Ayrault. Napoleon; A History of the Art of War (1904), old classic online edition
Duffy, Christopher. Austerlitz, 1805 (1999)
Duffy, Christopher. Borodino and the War of 1812 (1999).
Elting, John R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon’s Grande Armée (1997), influential study
Epstein, Robert M. Napoleon’s Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War (1994) on Austrian war of 1809
Esdaile, Charles J. Napoleon’s Wars: An International History, 1803-1815 (2008), 656pp excerpt and text search
Esdaile, Charles J. The French Wars 1792-1815. (2001). 96pp online edition
Fisher, Todd. The Napoleonic Wars (2001-4) 3 vol; 96pp, short, well-illustrated operational history excerpt and text search vol 1; excerpt and text search vol 2; excerpt and text search vol 3
Forrest, Alan. Napoleon’s Men: The Soldiers of the Revolution and Empire. 2002. 248 pp.
Fortescue, J. W. A history of the British army (19v 1899-1930) full text vol 4 pt2: 1789-1801online edition vol 6: 1807-1809; full text vol 7: 1809-1810; full text vol 8: 1810-1812; full text vol 9: 1813-1814; full text vol 10: 1814-1815
Gates, David. The Napoleonic Wars, 1803-1815 (1997) 304pp; attacks Connolly and says N’s “brilliance as a military commander has rarely been equalled let alone surpassed”
Gill, John. With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and his German Allies in the 1809 Campaign (1992)
Goetz, Robert. 1805: Austerlitz; Napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition (2005). 368pp
Griffith, Paddy. The Art of War of Revolutionary France 1789-1802, (1998); 304 pp; excerpt and text search
Hamilton-Williams, David. Waterloo: New Perspectives; The Great Battle Reappraised. (1994). 416 pp. excerpt and text search
Herold, J. Christopher. Napoleon in Egypt (1962) online edition
Kagan, Frederick W. “Russia’s Wars with Napoleon: 1805–1815”, in The Military History of Tsarist Russia, ed. Frederick W. Kagan and Robin Higham (2002), 106–22.
Kagan, Frederick W. The End of the Old Order: Napoleon And Europe, 1801-1805 (2006) first of four promised volumes; covers the strengths and strategies of all the powers excerpt and text search
Leggiere, Michael V. Napoleon and Berlin: The Franco-Prussian War in North Germany, 1813. 2002. 384 pp. excerpt and text search
Leggiere, Michael V. The Fall of Napoleon. ‘Vol 1:’ The Allied Invasion of France, 1813-1814. (2007) 690pp excerpt and text search
Lieven, Dominic. “Russia and the Defeat of Napoleon (1812-14).” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 2006 7(2): 283-308. ISSN 1531-023X Fulltext: in Project MUSE. Argues Alexander’s successful strategy has been neglected
Liaropoulos, Andrew N. “Revolutions in Warfare: Theoretical Paradigms and Historical Evidence – the Napoleonic and First World War Revolutions in Military Affairs.” Journal of Military History 2006 70(2): 363-384. ISSN 0899-3718 Fulltext: in Project Muse
Lieven, Dominic. “Russia and the Defeat of Napoleon (1812–14)” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 7#2 (2006) 283-308 online in Project Muse
Luvaas, Jay. Napoleon on the Art of War (2001) 288 pp. A synthesis, arrangement, and translation of Napoleon’s thinking. excerpt and text search
Lynn, John A. The Bayonets of the Republic: Motivation and Tactics in the Army of Revolutionary France, 1791–94 (1984); influential analysis excerpt and text search
Muir, Rory. Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon (2000), 466pp excerpt and text search
Nofi, Albert A. The Waterloo Campaign, June 1815. 1993. 333pp online edition
Nosworthy, Brent. With Musket, Cannon and Sword: Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies. (1996). 528 pp.
Paret, Peter. “Napoleon and the Revolution of War”, in Paret, ed. Makers of Modern Strategy (1986)
Pericoli, Ugo.1815: The Armies at Waterloo (1973)
Riley, J. P. “How Good Was Napoleon?” History Today, (July 2007) 57#7 10pp in EBSCO
Riley, J. P. Napoleon and the World War of 1813: Lessons in Coalition Warfighting. (2000). 480 pp
Riley, Jonathon. Napoleon As a General: Command from the Battlefield to Grand Strategy (2007)
Rogers, H.C.B. Napoleon’s Army (1974)
Rothenberg, Gunther E. (2006), The Napoleonic Wars 240pp, well illustrated synthesis by leading scholar excerpt and text search
Rothenberg, Gunther. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon 1978
Schneid, Frederick C. Napoleon’s Italian Campaigns: 1805-1815. (2002); 229pp online edition
Tarle, Eugene. Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia, 1812. 1942
lizzie @ #632 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 10:01 am
Thanks for that.
Good to read some intelligent musings from a Rex for a change 🙂
Nothing can compare
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bernese+mountain+dogs+in+snow&qpvt=bernese+mountain+dogs+in+snow&FORM=IGRE
Our Winter is always in her element when it snows on the lower North Shore of Sydney.
meher baba,
The only way former prime Minister, Tony Abbott, left parliament was via his electorate blasting him out. You also forget that, despite the consistent misprepresentations of malcontent miscreants such as nath, that Bill Shorten is actually greatly appreciated by his electorate. So maybe, as much as nath has a jihad and a fatwa against Bill, maybe no one else does?
a r
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:58 am
Comment #367
It was a good one. He wrote quite a few of his earlier books under pen names. Interesting to note the changes in technology as a step back through the novels. Cassette tape, floppy disks, 256K computer memory. I haven’t come across my favourite Amiga computer yet.
More from the DT
Worth a look to view the full images.
For history I really like “The Life of Elizabeth I”
By Alison Weir
and
Over and out. Cleaning day today. 😎
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/the-virgin-brides-fee-fest-time-in-the-virgin-australia-showroom/
Shellbell @ #636 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 10:11 am
Que?
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/bf7e78dc-2baa-4e2c-a3d6-01db7b8d3570_1.7e7d3a6481e2f7c753fea01652209ca5.jpeg
😀
meher baba @ #612 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:45 am
Yep, culminating in ‘becoming’ PM.
Excellent language used by Andrews at his press conference this morning:
“If we continue to see these results, then we would have options that would be denied to us if we didn’t have this virus fundamentally under control.”
It gives a sense of things generally improving, and raises the possibility of some aspects of our lives and the economy returning to more of a normal state. But it doesn’t create unrealistic expectations of the virus being completely eliminated nor of a speedy return to “normality”.
I have an aversion to dogs dressed as if they were dolls. Winter coats, maybe, in a cold climate, but that’s all. Let them be dogs, that’s enough for me.
mundo: “Yep, culminating in ‘becoming’ PM.”
Please expand: are you referring here (perhaps sarcastically) to Turnbull? Or to Rudd? Or perhaps to a future pathway for Shorten?
meher baba @ #644 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 10:19 am
mundo only does sarcasm. mundo doesn’t do expansion. 🙂
nath @ #609 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 – 9:42 am
Probably the lamest comment you’ve ever made.
It seems the federal government is going to do the wrong thing for the wrong reason. They want to build organisational flexibility at the cost of individual resilience, to support organisation level adaptation instead of system wide adaptation, for the purpose of trying to sustain old systems instead of developing our capacity to adapt as a society to new environments.
One of reasons given for resisting calls to slow down our system is that there are individuals within it who need to work flat out just to live. The system has optimised away (during better times) their capacity to absorb shocks (when things go south). The foundation of any response should be to build, not erode, the capacity of all individuals in the system to deal with and adapt to disruption (but doing so smacks of the s-word to which some people are irrationally allergic).
The insistence that IR reform be permananent, but changes to social and economic support be temporary (just for the duration of this crisis), favours some people (employers) gaining such capacity at the expense of others (employees) in the long term. It is inadaequate and insufficient to merely react to help people subsist (to just paper over the cracks in our system) when a crisis occurs, we should be taking a proactive approach that prepares all people (and hence the whole system) to be resilient in advance.
😆 Let the fighting over who ‘owns’ the plague cases begin.
………………………………………………………………………………………
……Dan Andrews……I can confirm that there are 1,336 cases of coronavirus in Victoria. That is the same total as yesterday, but there are, in fact, two new cases.
Two have been removed on the basis that they have been added to interstate tallies.
That’s where they tested positive.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2020/apr/22/australia-coronavirus-live-updates-nsw-victoria-qld-testing-schools-morrison-economy-latest-news-update
Good question by Andrew Giles, but no prize for the correct answer. A genuine leader of “Team Australia” would not hesitate.
My son is an honorary member of the facebook page for chihuaha lovers. I will not let him buy one! 😆