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18th Jan - 24th Jan
FIRST ON THE STREET
No 834
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
JO
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17 IN 5 SI
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INFO@QMG.CO.NZ
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Block out the noise
Queenstown’s most read non-fiction library book of 2021 was Mark Mason’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a ****. This book is not new, it was first published in 2016, but it’s no surprise that last year locals needed something to help them destress and find perspective. We’ve got the virus, the social and economic impact in our tourist town, border closures, being cut off from overseas relatives, new variants, and the slow creep into some science fiction dystopia of masks, scanning, vaccine passports and vaccine mandates. And, on top of all this, we’ve got to deal with everyone else’s bloody opinions on it all, and work out what’s valid, what’s not. Clearly, some people are off the deep end. I posted a story on the Lakes Weekly Bulletin’s Facebook page last week about the locations of interest in Queenstown and someone suggested everybody ‘stop taking medical advice from politicians and the media and read some ACTUAL science’, recommending a book The Truth About Contagion. So, I had a look and the blurb reads: ‘Are there really such things as “viruses”? Or are electro smog, toxic living conditions, and 5G actually to blame for COVID-19?’ This is one end of the spectrum, easy to dismiss. The other end is people who believe pharmaceutical companies and Governments always have our best interests at heart and act purely altruistically and accountably, even British PM Boris and his banging Number 10 ‘work’ parties. The rest of us fall somewhere in between, but even among close friends, there are vast differences of opinion. I know people who believe Jacinda is a Queen, doing the best job possible under extreme circumstances, others who believe she’s incompetent, or Machiavellian. I know people who were first in line for the vaccine, others who’ve refused it and are taking the hit of societal exclusion as a result.
Camila Silva, 30, of Columbia, was the fastest female in the 24km distance at Kingston’s Race the Train on Saturday. She crossed the finish line in 2hrs 19mins, pictured here with partner Andy Mackinnon, from Scotland, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday.
is Love reak d e e n u All LUNcH b A s e im :) et But somworks wonders
I have friends who believe this is all about a transfer of wealth and the introduction of digital identities for everyone (years ago, I sat in pubs, half drunk, laughing at them as they told me UFOs were real and politicians and the Royal Family had connections to a cabal of elite paedophiles). So, where are you on the spectrum and how, in this global cacophony of noise and opinion, do you make important decisions? This week, for example, parents in the Whakatipu and across NZ have to make the decision whether to vaccinate their children, aged 5-11. Maybe the answer is to do your own research, from decent, peer-reviewed sources rather than Facebook memes, and come to your own conclusion, based on your own ethical framework and risk tolerance. And then, subtly, just don’t give a **** about what anyone else thinks. Paul Taylor Queenstown Media Group
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