The UK Prime Minister or Ministers

As a full British Citizen, even though the UK government has never done anything for me (the passport reads "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary") nor have I been eligible to vote for or against issues such as Brexit (so I am a full British Second Class Citizen), I am extremely embarrassed by how incompetent the British government is.

I will define competent as able to lead and take responsibility for their decisions as Prime Minister. It does not matter your political spectrum, you need to be able to lead and create stability for the general population you serve. Especially if your decisions as Prime Minister have an international impact too.

I do not necessarily agree with the following adjectives, but it is widely considered and agreed that the UK is rich, developed, powerful, influential, educated and an international example on many levels, including economical and political.

I am not extremely political, however it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the UK Government/PM has been incompetent and unstable for a while. Boris Johnson: put aside his skills or lack thereof to be a competent UK Prime Minister, and see him as just a human being, but really? Breaching covid restrictions not once or twice but more and doing it unknowingly. 

I haven't actually heard his voice for a while, but I have always found it hard understanding the words coming out of his mouth and I generally do not have a problem with accents. (He also has a child, which is quite frankly scary, but not necessarily related to him being PM).

Lizz Truss. I believe in equality, not just between men and women, but all sexes, men, women, and sexualities etc. But Liz Truss is a woman and let's face it, straight women and straight men are generally the main focus of the topic of equality. 

There are not enough women in positions of power, be it CEOs, Prime Ministers/Presidents, surgeons, pilots etc. And yes, I know life is not fair and just because a women is not only in a position of power dominated for the most part by men but a high-profile position, she should not necessarily be an example, but she implemented 'her' economic plan, basically reversed it, then 45 days later, was no longer PM, after she said with confidence she would not resign. Yes, saying she would not resign was likely a move, could one even say strategic and to show strength, but it just make her looks stupid/idiotic/ridiculous.

Not to mention the IMF, the IMF, ladies and gentleman, basically said "don't go ahead with your economic plan". A worldwide renowned body is saying this and you just ignore them. You threw the worldwide economy into instability and were forced to stop.

Now Rishi Sunak is the UK PM. He is:

young

the first black UK PM

the first Asian UK PM

very wealthy

He seems to be direct, which is good: "depressing domestic challenges we have with the economy", but he did say he was not going to attend COP 27 then said he was.

By God, if he can actually be a competent UK PM it will help the dire situation the World is in. One reason: the world is so connected now, and the UK is a big power in it. In general, economic, politics, immigration etc...: food exports/imports, products like smartphones, foreign currencies, alliances, trade agreements, climate change agreements, drugs* travel to and from/are negotiated/are exchanged between countries daily. 

The war in Ukraine is by far up there on the list of issues having a massive impact on humans and it would be better if it ended, and the UK should not have a spotlight on it's Prime Minister, especially as it's apparently rich, developed, powerful, influential, educated and an international example on many levels. It shouldn't be swinging like a pendulum between three PMs, it should be better than that. However, you do need a UK PM, you do need a government. Otherwise you cannot really do anything.

Now maybe we can focus on the war in Ukraine; Afghanistan; Iran; North Korea; covid; climate change; Africa which yes has many problems caused by White people but health that is to say preventable infections/diseases/deaths and education are a good start.

* drugs in this case are medicine/vaccines etc.

-A.M.

Mpox (formerly named monkeypox) is NOT a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI)

STD: Sexually Transmitted Disease

STI: Sexually Transmitted Infection

You should be using STI more often than not.

What are the best main methods of preventing a STI? Condoms or, for the purpose of clarity, having sex with one person excluding yourself (monogomous is generally considered the term for this). If you do both at the same time, even safer.

You do not get infected with mpox by having sex. You catch it through very close contact, which is needed for sex. But it is not a direct correlation.

To me, and please correct me if I'm wrong on this comparison, but that is like saying a lady will necessarily get pregnant if she has sex. No she won't. Even if no contraception is used and she is not already pregnant, she will not absolutely definitely get pregnant.

STI is gonorrhea, syphillis, for example.

Another problem I have with the information being put out is mpox is mostly spreading among gay men and men who have sex with men. People don't read and/or because of many reasons they come to believe this: I won't get mpox because I'm not gay and/or I won't get mpox because I'm not a man having sex with men.

That is not what the information is. Most cases, the majority of them are gay men or men who have sex with men. This is not all. Yes, it is also legitimate to believe you won't get it because you are not in those 'categories', but it does not absolutely mean you will never get mpox.

That is like being told you have cancer and that immediately means in your head that you will die. Actually, that is not always the case. Same with HIV. It all depends on your specific context. AIDS, yes, you will die, but you can live ten years with HIV. You can be in remission with cancer. You can 'beat' cancer and never have it again.

Maybe before it was a death sentence, but today it is not a given.

In part, this misconception about mpox is partly driven by the media in my opinion. It seems 'gay men' and 'men who have sex with men' are highlighted and whilst this might be/is true, if you do your job, you will know when you release the news article, many people will believe they won't get mpox because they are not one of the sexualities involved in most cases.

Not that mpox is a human, but if it were, do you really think it would ask before infecting a human being: is this person gay? Is this person a man who has sex with men?

No it fucking does not. It's goal is to infect people.

Anyone can get mpox, you get infected by close contact.

Close contact is required to have sex.

-A.M.

New Zealand at 365

Un an. Un año. One year. One year since NZ, especially Auckland, was put into lockdown because of one case of the Delta variant of covid. I remember hearing it be announced, I think it was the 5 am news on rnz. Shock. Fear.

NZ has never really got 'back to normal' since then, to life pre-covid/pre-Delta. Which it was. You all have Ashley Bloomfield, for the most part, to thank for protecting Aotearoa from the thousands of infections and deaths France, Germany, the US, Italy, Argentina and many others have.

Yet mask use is dropping. Western/White people mindset/culture. It is an unofficial fact mask use is higher or ubiquitous in Asia such as Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, or at the very least when it was most needed. It's not a question for them. And children wear them, including those under 3-4 years old.

This is my question: do you want to get sick? Do you want to die? Do you want to be able to go out to eat like life pre-covid/pre-Delta? Do you want to travel domestically and/or internationally like life pre-covid/pre-Delta to see your loved ones or simply for a holiday? Do you want customers to come back to your business ie have a steady income? Do you want to there not be delays on stock for your business? Do you want your kids to be back at school? Do your kids want to be back at school?

Put on a fucking mask so you won't have to keep living with restrictions. This does not include those who cannot because of medical reasons.

It seems covid has already got New Zealand 'popping' off as a consequence and you've only really had it impact your lives for a year: ram raids, gangs fighting, hospitals overwhelmed etc.

The UK, the Netherlands, Brazil and others have gone through that already. And some still are. Your patience is low and took less than 365 days. It's not trivializing at all, but New Zealand has one of the lowest death tolls and community cases in the entire World. This is an achievement. Do you want to keep it that way which means do you want to live life with as few public health measures as possible? The fastest most efficient way is to put on/wear a mask. Buy one if you won't wear the medical grade/blue one. (A fabric/material one will also reduce wastage because the sooner we contain covid the less waste there will be: masks, PPE, plastic for RATs and PCR testing etc.).

Inflation is not just abstract, it's concrete. It's affecting millions of people. The poor are even poorer: these are people, of which there are millions in Africa, who have no house, let alone cold water (forget hot water), electricity and food. They will never have a computer or mobile phone (which is what a smartphone is essentially), they will never have internet.

Inflation for many in NZ means paying more for petrol, food, rent and utilities. The one and only difference you can make is to prioritize because you can't personally stop Russia's war on Ukraine.

Climate change. You can make your difference by being environmentally friendly, but again, you can't do it personally. You cannot stop the flooding, the slips, the droughts, the heat, the fires. You can use re-usable bags, try to reduce plastic (buy more glass, metal), don't have paper statements/receipts. Of course you're just using another resource.

But wouldn't it be nice if you could try to get rid of one of those problems as much as you could? Covid is the easiest and one you can have an impact on the most.

How?

By wearing a mask.

You can't never eliminate the risk, but you can reduce it, significantly even.

So then you would only have inflation and climate change. Two instead of three and all you have to do is put on a mask.

Or put it this way: is it really more important for you not to wear a mask? You are prolonging not going to concerts and the movies, education, employment, festivals.

Yes, I'm playing the emotional card, but covid has highlighted our loved ones, the option to move without restrictions and that rent, utilities and food are necessary. And of course, it is not just about sleep, eat, work, shower: the Arts are important because movies, music, reading, singing, dancing etc at home have all helped us since covid has been controlling our lives.

You can not wear a mask.

Or you can wear one.

Just make sure you are 100% comfortable with your decision and are confident if you ever explain your reasoning.

-A.M.