This is #transitzone USA Election Update 9, recorded on Saturday 27th of September, 2024.

This last week of the election campaign has seen Donald Trump become even more overheated in his rhetoric. His fixation on whether Kamala Harris had a summer job working for McDonalds about 40 years ago, as she claims, has become a recurring feature of his rally rants. He has not relented an iota on the Springfield, Haitian attacks or his 2020, “rigged” election Big Lie, even as the voting machine company, Smartmatic, settles at the last minute a defamation case with far-right outlet NEWSMAX. Fox News is next in that litigation queue

But gradually, economic policies are coming into focus with Trump emphasising his across the board tariffs policy and 15% corporate tax offer to encourage manufacturing in the USA plus a grab bag of other throw it against the wall policy promises.

Kamala Harris delivered a major speech followed by a solo cable TV interview around HER economic policies. And yes, "opportunity economy" and ‘middle class” were repeated themes from her as you’d expect. There was some detail.

Peter Clarke, Margo Kingston with their guest, Nicholas Gruen, discuss the "competing" economic policies of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump (such as they are), with under 4o days to go to the USA election voting day on 5 November.

We are now in the fifth year of the corona virus pandemic. New waves of infections are occurring.

From those earlier years, starting in January 2020, before vaccinations were available, until today, has been a turbulent history of public health measures, including stringent lockdowns, vaccine and mask mandates and socio, economic, political debates and disagreements around “living with covid”. There has been a plethora of often conflicting or at best, ambiguous information and, from certain political actors outright denialism and disinformation about the pandemic and the nature and character of the disease.

Today, despite the persistence of the corona virus in our communities, and the widespread evidence of various forms of “LONG COVID”, we find ourselves in a situation where, overall, complacency rules. People go to work with covid symptoms now! A long way from those days of government enforced quarantine hotels.

Whereas, once we had easy access to daily data on infection numbers, ICU patients and deaths etc., we now have little idea. That data has been submerged.

Hospitals themselves, once strictly fortressed from SARS-CoV2 infections, are now places where being infected is often highly likely. More veiled are the continuing infections and deaths in aged care facilities. They still seem to be ground zero for covid19 deaths.

Back in August 2020, we released our first #transitzone PANDEMIC PRIMER PODCAST. Four more followed examining the VIRUS itself, its variants, vaccines and global responses to the pandemic.

#transitzone's expert guide was Professor John Potter, UK born, Australian raised and educated, but now based in Nelson, New Zealand. Previously, John worked in a range of overseas institutions including as Senior VP and Director, Public Health Sciences Division at the renowned Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre, in Seattle, in the United States.

Professor John joins Peter Clarke again, from Nelson, for this #transitzone PANDEMIC PRIMER PODCAST, 2024 UPDATE.

RESOURCES

This podcast is intended as an incentive for you to seek further high quality information on the covid19 pandemic especially around "LONG COVID", in the form of academic papers and well researched journalism.

"Long Covid in Aotearoa NZ: Risk assessment and preventive action urgently needed."

https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/long-covid-aotearoa-nz-risk-assessment-and-preventive-action-urgently-needed

"Potential for an avian influenza pandemic: Time for NZ to ramp up preparedness'

https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/potential-avian-influenza-pandemic-time-nz-ramp-preparedness

This is #transitzone USA Election Update 8, recorded on Wednesday, 18 September.

It is a week since the Kamala Harris, Donald Trump nationally televised debate, which most saw beforehand as a pivotal media event. It was certainly a revealing one. The #USA media journalism sector has been awash with post debate analyses and opining ever since.

When Trump dropped his meme quality, “they’re eating the dogs”, during the debate, it was perceived primarily as part of his unravelling under the repeated needling from Harris. But it’s clearer now that the Springfield Ohio, “they’re eating the pets” lie is central to the Trump, GOP, cult campaign, propaganda operation. GOP VP nominee, JD Vance, in a testy interview with Dana Bash on CNN, admitted that he, “creates these stories” for effect. There has been no credible evidence for the claims.

Springfield has been deeply affected by bomb and other threats against Haitians and lockdowns.

And this week, an armed lurker in the bushes on the perimeter of a Trump golf course was flushed out by the Secret Service shooting in his direction and later arrested, charged with firearm offences. He apparently fired no shots and Trump, who was playing golf there at the time, was unharmed. But the incident has been described almost universally as an “attempted assassination”.

Of course, Trump and the GOP cult campaign have exploited it to the full, again blaming the “inflammatory rhetoric”, criticising Trump, from the Democratic Party, for inducing the violence. Trump's career long, personal hallmark has been vitriolic, inflammatory rhetoric and "insult politics"

Margo Kingston and Peter Clarke look back on another febrile week in the USA 2024 election campaign as the Springfield, Ohio situation worsens and GOP propaganda becomes even more bizarre and deceptive.

FORTY SIX DAYS TO GO TO VOTING DAY.