I just found this link to an interview with Derrick Jensen. Environmentalist, "old growth leftie", who is surprised as to what got him cancelled. Writing about blowing up dams, no-one cared but question modern queer theory you get cancelled. HT Dark Waters on Daily Blog.
It is an hour and a half and does have some good insights.
Interesting move for Jensen to be interviewed by Southern.
Jensen's A Language Older Than Words was hugely influential on my deep green politics back in the day. I hung out on one of his forums for a while, in this Salmon/blow up dams years.
Him and the Deep Greens got absolute shit for their defence of material reality and sex based rights. Tbf they were pretty rude about transwomen, but as we all eventually learn, being kind isn't a successful strategy.
you can follow the breadcrumbs from that. Jensen knows what he is doing here but many of the hard core identitarians won't get past the mention of paedophilia and queer theory 🤷♀️ The value is for the people trying to figure out what tf is going on in this whole thing.
He's talking about the origins of QT as a way of demonstrating the connections between QT and child sexual abuse. It's not that all of QT is paedophiliac, it's that the culture of QT is centred in highly valuing transgression and this undermines child safeguarding, allowing people who want child sex to be legal/tolerated to find some power.
He names Focault, Gayle Rubin, Pat Califia, Judith Butler, all people highly influential in QT. Butler is contemporary, and recently released a book. She is a very influential academic.
Most people who call themselves queer wouldn't know who most of those people are. But the reason it's such a problem now is because No Debate means no critique can be made publicly without accusations of transphobia or homophobia.
You can see the disconnect in the video. When show evidence of child sexual abuse apologia, instead of engage with the evidence and testing its robustness, the QT students are hurling accusations that in today's world are often damaging.
It's the same dynamic as why it took a 4 year independent medical system review to look at child and youth gender transition in the UK. Because the people who were raising concerns were shut down and the rest of the people who would otherwise have looked at the safeguarding issues were too scared to. People lost their jobs, marriages, careers, friends over this.
It's also finds expression in Rainbow culture. Pride was originally an adult celebration of adult homosexuality. Now it's trying to be family friendly, which means you have men exhibiting their sexual fetishes in public with children. Again, when people try to point this out, there is denial and ostracisation.
And because the progressive voices have been so successfully shut down, the debate is now terribly skewed to the right. Hence Brian Tamaki and co painting of rainbow crossings, the liberal left up in arms about that, and you and I are talking in yesterdays DR instead of there being front page posts all week about the Cass Review, Giggle v Tickle, and some dude in the North America who has just won a legal court case that will mean he can use public health services to have a neovagina created while retaining his penis. Because that's his gender identity.
That phenomena of strange bedfellows (Southern, Peterson, Tamaki) is rendered all the more stark with the lack of natural allies from the progressive "left". (The "Punching down" and pedancy around phrasing/wordgames crowd).
Jensen's reference to old growth lefty resonates, but less from a wild nature lens more from a worker/class standpoint.
“To me, the whole complaint about cancel culture is a lot of men — especially straight men — who are just pissed that they can’t say things any more, y’know?” Sykes explained, “And it’s not like you can’t say these things. You can say them, but now there’s just consequences.” Sykes continued, "That’s why I say I can’t get canceled. Only God can say: ‘All right, Wanda, that’s enough.’”
‘Two years to save the world’: UN climate chief calls for faster action and more finance [11 April 2024]
Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare said Stiell was “listening to the science” – namely that global emissions must be halved by the end of the decade to meet the Paris climate accord's ambition of capping global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Governments are nowhere near that, and disastrously many are still supporting new fossil fuel development,” Hare said.
Reversing oil and gas ban brazen and utterly reckless [5 March 2024]
“This Government is recklessly and shamelessly pouring oil and gas on the fire of the climate crisis,” says the co-leader of the Green Party, James Shaw.
“The Prime Minister has talked about “tough choices” recently. Well, the choices they are making include reopening New Zealand waters to the fossil fuel industry instead of confronting the climate crisis with the urgency it demands.
James Shaw, telling it like it actually is – Parliament's loss
Dig this [Richard Harman, Politik, 16 Feb 2024]
“In 2040, if I [Shane Jones] have anything to do with it, there will be a flourishing mining sector employing all my nephews who are currently going to the figurative Kalgoolies of the world, and I will have served my penance for having acquiesced in the closure of oil and gas off the coast of Taranaki.”
“Global emissions must be halved by the end of the decade” – that’s 2030, Shane.
Saunders' nit-picking about investment in the safety and well being of workers and the public personifies the right's total disregard for anything other than their own bottom dollar. Fuck ém.
5,000 years of suppressing women because we embody nature and here humans are about to kill nature itself.
It's not a coincidence that transhumanism is arising at the same time as a full assault on women's rights at the same time as we all ignore impending collapse of biosphere.
The only way out is via embodiment, of ourselves and nature, and we cannot do that without women, from whom we all come.
– weka was participating in a conversation with others putting her own thoughts down;
– Drowsy M Kram was initiating one with their style of posting links to mostly other people's reckons – (which is fine, just not usually good at creating momentum);
– your comment (as it stands) with no editorial – reads as an admonishment to weka for (ironically) talking about women's right's – because Drowsy M Kram's comment is standing there all lonely without someone looking after it.
I'm pointing this out because it is Sunday morning and I'm feeling charitable and thinking perhaps you ARE completely unaware of how your comment can be read by others.
I thought RG's point was why spend time on this fringe issue when faced with the immediacy of the climate crisis. He's not wrong, apart for his idea that women's sex based rights are fringe and not intrinsically linked to the climate crisis
He will probably equivocate now about my use of the term fringe instead of addressing the substantive points, but I thought it was worth saying how I saw it.
"I thought RG's point was why spend time on this fringe issue when faced with the immediacy of the climate crisis."
Not really. "Two years to save the world" did catch my eye though. The subject of women's sex based rights does come up a lot on The Standard these days. I've long been an advocate for the position that the patriarchy and the state of the planet are intimately linked, and also for the proposal that women were/are/will be the kaitiaki taiao needed if we are to survive much longer. I also believe and profess that indigenous cultures that have maintained a close animistic connection to the living world hold the understanding of how to establish right relationships between humans and non-humans and in particular, the women from those communities and in particular, the older women there.
I've long been an advocate for the position that the patriarchy and the state of the planet are intimately linked, and also for the proposal that women were/are/will be the kaitiaki taiao needed if we are to survive much longer. I also believe and profess that indigenous cultures that have maintained a close animistic connection to the living world hold the understanding of how to establish right relationships between humans and non-humans and in particular, the women from those communities and in particular, the older women there.
Just clearing out my bookmarks, and this is good link to Alasdair Gunn from Genspect, talking about the treatment of chidren. (Link provides transcript, which I prefer to watching the video)
Thanks so much for all your work and input into the major (definitely NOT fringe) issue of maintaining and protecting women's hard fought for rights – here on TS and elsewhere. As for your patience with some commenters (RG in particular) on this subject, I certainly could not maintain my composure as you do … !!!
UPDATE – see you found him, but still want to pass on my thanks.
Um..!…the link Davis recommends speaks out against 'advocates and activists' campaigning on this issue…when there is little/no quality evidence…
And also notes that 'no professionals 'took part in this cass report..
And seemingly agrees with BMJ…that this report should be the stimulus for further research…
Have you read the BMJ piece..?
[I’ve addressed your very poorly framed points below. I have some sympathy for people trying to get up to speed with what is a complex situation. But this is a major medical scandal where multiple children have been damaged for life. I have zero tolerance for lies and propaganda. From now on, if you want to comment on the Cass report or related issues, you will have to do the following every time
use copy and pasted quotes in ” “, so we know what you are referring to
I've done little for five days but read about the Cass report, and the BMJ piece was one of the first.
Her stated ambition is to ensure that those experiencing gender dysphoria receive a high standard of care. This will be disputed, of course, by people and lobbying groups angered by her recommendations, but it is a theme running through the review.
The BMJ editor is talking about genderist/pro-trans umbrella NGOs and TRAs there.
The lack of quality evidence refers to the fact that GIDS and other clinics have been giving puberty blockers and later cross sex hormones and surgeries on kids and young people without adequate medical science to base those treatments on.
That's the scandal Phil, and it's a major part of the Cass Reviews final report. You are woefully under-informed here.
And also notes that 'no professionals 'took part in this cass report..
Bullshit. Hilary Cass is a professional. She worked with a university. The review was overseen by medical professionals.
What the BMJ is referring to is the fact that nearly all the adult gender clinics in the UK refused to share data with Cass so that she could look at the evidence for whether children treated with affirmation only were being helped existed.
Those clinics have now been told to release teh information by the government, and there is going to be a similar kind of review into the adult clinics as the child ones.
Let that sink in. Medical professionals refused to share crucial information with an independent review that was trying to see if children were being harmed by medical treatment.
Maybe you should take that up with BMj/Pete davis.?…I am just passing their words on..
And I read the admonition to 'activists and advocates' re paucity of reliable evidence to campaign on..
..to be also addressed to the antis such as yourself..
Me..?…I don't have enough evidence to have any certainty on this issue..
And it would seem that applies to pretty much anyone pontificating one way or the other…
And I was quite amused by you and veuto posting something that wasn't what you thought..and that actually tells you to taiho…and to wait for some real/credible evidence.
What is your reaction to that admonition/advice..?
the only reason you're not getting a ban right now is because I have to go out. Read the mod note and respond, you only get one chance at this.
I am telling you you are wrong about Davis' tweet and the BMJ editorial. I'm saying that as someone who has been following this debate closely for 7 years and has been reading a huge amount of analysis in the past 5 days. You simply have the completely wrong end of the stick here.
What I have understood..is that for me not to be banned here..I cannot comment on any story weka has written/is close to ..
And as a general rule of thumb…I should not interact with weka..if at all possible..
You have completely misunderstood the BMJ editorial. I’m not explaining it to you because you’re not listening. The conditions of commenting are in the original mod note. Go and sort your head out and reread it, it’s clear.
I have read and reread the BMJ & Peter Davis' X (Twitter) comment. I cannot work out how Philip Ure has read what he has into it.
Peter Davis makes a couple of comments based on the BMJ which in turn has some quotes from the Cass Report. X (Twitter) imposes character limits hence the shortened writing
This is the complete Tweet from Davis
"The Cass review: an opportunity to unite behind evidence informed care in gender medicine". Existing evidence woefully poor; cannot justify current 'over-medicalised' interventions. Professionals in the field did not cooperate with Cass
"The Cass review: an opportunity to unite behind evidence informed care in gender medicine" This is a quote from the title of the BMJ article
"Existing evidence woefully poor; cannot justify current 'over-medicalised' interventions." Davis' words presumably from reading the BMJ. The word in quotes come from the BMJ
'Professionals in the field did not cooperate with Cass' Davis' words presumably from reading the BMJ.
How anyone could read this and think that BMJ did not support the Cass review I do not know.
The BMJ picks up on a crticism of the Cass Report about setting too high a bar with research standards then states
'the reality is different: studies in gender medicine fall woefully short in terms of methodological rigour; the methodological bar for gender medicine studies was set too low, generating research findings that are therefore hard to interpret.' Thus supporting that she has been sparingly, relatively, with the links to research as there is not much that reaches the standards a researcher would expect to see.
and
Yet this inconclusive and unacceptable evidence base was used to inform influential clinical guidelines, such as those of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which themselves were cascaded into the development of subsequent guidelines internationally
and
A spiralling interventionist approach, in the context of an evidence void, amounted to overmedicalising care for vulnerable young people. A too narrow focus on gender dysphoria, says Cass, neglected other presenting features and failed to provide a holistic model of care.
and
Cass’s review is independent and listened to people with lived experience. Without doubt, the advocacy and clinical practice for medical treatment of gender dysphoria had moved ahead of the evidence—a recipe for harm.
and finally
'People who are gender non-conforming experience stigmatisation, marginalisation, and harassment in every society. They are vulnerable, particularly during childhood and adolescence. The best way to support them, however, is not with advocacy and activism based on substandard evidence. The Cass review is an opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and place evidence informed care at the heart of gender medicine. It is an opportunity not to be missed for the sake of the health of children and young people. It is an opportunity for unity.'
The Cass review is an opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and place evidence informed care at the heart of gender medicine. It is an opportunity not to be missed for the sake of the health of children and young people. It is an opportunity for unity.'
"The Cass review is an opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and place evidence informed care at the heart of gender medicine. It is an opportunity not to be missed for the sake of the health of children and young people. It is an opportunity for unity.'
Somehow, you missed the preceding sentences in that closing paragraph:
"People who are gender non-conforming experience stigmatisation, marginalisation, and harassment in every society. They are vulnerable, particularly during childhood and adolescence. The best way to support them, however, is not with advocacy and activism based on substandard evidence. "
I am someone who believes respect needs to be earned. But sometimes it is also lost.
"I have no idea what point you are trying to make, Molly, nor why you are offering your opinion to me.
Perhaps you're just bored?"
Just because I personally find you boorish, doesn't mean I am bored, or that I will ignore your comments if I consider them a misdirection.
This is a public discussion platform, and the thread is discussing a major medical scandal that is becoming harder to deny.
I comment – sometimes – because I believe there are some who seek to diminish the necessary attention and consideration on this issue – and whose efforts in that direction make it much harder to rectify and avoid further unnecessary harm.
Let that sink in. Medical professionals refused to share crucial information with an independent review that was trying to see if children were being harmed by medical treatment.
Double bad in my books Weka.
First from the Hippocratic oath that all Drs take
Ensuring patient safety is at the heart of the Hippocratic Oath: First, Do No Harm
The notion “do no harm” embodies the medical ethics principle of “non-maleficence”, that is to refrain from doing any harm first, before doing any good.
beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and respect for the patient's autonomy
I'm not a Dr but surely the harm from puberty blockers and surgical interventions is/was known. The harm should have been first and foremost in a Dr's mind per Hippocratic oath. Quite apart from the gross known harm ie puberty blockers are not able to be reversed and botched surgical redesigns of sexual organs are well known, these humans acting in an almost God-like capacity really bother me. Sexual response to orgasm can be completely lost on children/adults who have been subject to ‘trans’ ‘work’. And someone decided that this was Ok when that child was pre teen. I don't understand how parents/Drs can do this to anyone.
The second bad is that these Drs were working in the public sector/public sector adjacent and presumably had contracts or other documents plus money from the Govt. Having worked in health when we had a contracting model I know that any group who refused to supply info would
a have had their staff referred to the appropriate professional medical society they belonged to
b had any accreditations pulled from them, leading to
c pausing of funds until a & b had been had been fixed
d our high powered audit team/plus teams from the funder of the general medical services fees (the way Drs are funded) would be there before the records could be 'lost'
e pausing of further funding on an interim basis even before any referrals
Of course these take time.
It may be that the intransigence will serve the Cass Report well in that the Drs are not actually covering themselves with glory in not providing the info. Actually if you read Hannah Barnes book 'Time to Think' you will note that several of those speaking to her (ie former employees) had expressed concern about not recording and not reviewing.
not as an excuse but as context, in the US there is significant culture in medicine around avoiding legal liability by overtreating or treating along specific pathways.
In socialised medicine countries I think this still happens but more along the lines of giving the patient what they want. This is part of why antibiotics have been overprescribed despited doctors knowing the risks. It's a weird contradiction, but in the US it's tied up with the agenda of insurance companies and what they will and won't cover as well.
Add to that, I don't think we can over-estimate the degree to which ideology is a factor here. Lots of theories on why people go along with it in the way they do, but I don't see it definitively explained. We just know it's there.
I've been thinking about this interview with Helen Joyce where she talks about how parents who have transed their kids have to stay ideologically committed to that for the rest of their lives, because they've caused so much harm to their child that they can't never undo.
I wonfder if this is a factor for some medical people too.
I also think that there are doctors in it for the glory. The surgeons in particular who are honing their skills on the genitals and breasts of teenagers. Those ones can get fucked.
It is the children that I really get riled up about.
A girl child I know of had a phase of telling her mother "I a boy, I a boy". From this in the next few years up until now this child was subjected to all sorts of chemical interventions.
This idea, as a child, that you wish to be another thing is common and non worrying to most parents, kids grow out of it or parents/GP undertake watchful waiting.
Puberty for young people is a difficult time. We all know it. Psychologists and child development experts know it. Body changes, hormone fluctuations, social engagement, distancing from family, peer connections all have significant impacts on individuals. Many women will be able to relate how dealing with menstruation and body changes was often a cause for embarrassment or shame. The development of their bodies often attracting unwanted attention or comment – both from strangers and sometimes from previously trusted adults. Men have their own stories of this period. They are significantly different.
Self-exploration and understanding is a major part of that period. Fluidity in presentation, identification and connections is not only expected, but an aid in defining your adult self.
I grieve for the vulnerability of the young people caught up in this. The autistic, the non-regressive-stereotypical, the same-sex oriented, the ones with co-morbidities.
I hope that many have adopted an identity that required no interventions – and they will be able to walk away unscathed by a need for long-term medical treatment. For others, that have permanent outcomes to deal with, we need to demand high-quality, accessible, ongoing support.
I grieve for the vulnerability of the young people caught up in this. The autistic, the non-regressive-stereotypical, the same-sex oriented, the ones with co-morbidities.
Going down a path that is non reversible is tragic. It completely in my view blows out the concept of 'first do no harm'. This concept is not try to find the way then check that it is not harmful. That is of sizing up a child as a possibilty for intervention from the time the child walks through the door. It works in a reverse way.
I accept that Drs do have this expectation that they will do something to help us ie prescribe something…so much so that MOH/GPs were on a programme to deter antibiotics use where they were not needed.
You can see how young the girl child I was referring to by the language used 'I a boy, I a boy.' This was not a pre teen but rather perhaps a pre schooler.
This to me is a clear example of what might be behind some of this ideology.
It's those same old ideas / questions that can be asked when you want to find out who might be behind various things (at least to some extent) You can 'follow the money' and / or ask "who benefits?"
In this example the child doesn't benefit, the parents don't benefit (except maybe in their own minds in the short term). The beneficiary here is whoever produces, pushes and distributes the said chemicals, which would be everybody's friend, the pharmaceutical industry.
"The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) is disappointed to see the number of harmful recommendations made by the NHS-commissioned Cass Review, released yesterday in England. This review ignores the consensus of major medical bodies around the world and lacks relevance in an Aotearoa context."
"The final Cass Review did not include trans or non-binary experts or clinicians experienced in providing gender affirming care in its decision-making, conclusions, or findings. Instead, a number of people involved in the review and the advisory group previously advocated for bans on gender affirming care in the United States, and have promoted non-affirming ‘gender exploratory therapy’, which is considered a conversion practice."
It’s shocking to see such a significant inquiry into transgender health completely disregard the voices of transgender experts. It would be like reviewing women’s health with no women, or Māori health with no Māori involved.
In spring 2023 the Review commissioned six support and advocacy organisations to facilitate a series of focus groups with former, current and potential future service users to understand their experiences and to capture their thoughts and ideas about what they need and want from services and how they would want to access them.
The Review worked through host organisations because they were able to provide a safe environment in which participants felt comfortable and confident to speak freely and could be supported before, during and after the sessions.
The brief was:
To facilitate between 15 – 20 focus group sessions (delivered by a range of organisations)
The focus group participants should be people with lived experience, i.e., those who identify as transgender, non-binary, gender fluid and/or young people who have been through a period of gender questioning, ideally, but not exclusively, people who have used NHS gender services, or are likely to use those services in the future.
Each focus group should engage with between 10 – 15 people, in the age range of 14 – 30 years. There will be some topics where parental / family perspectives may be helpful, but the focus is predominantly on the young people themselves.
Each discussion session should last for a minimum of 1 hour.
Host Organisations were asked to:
Work with the Review team to agree the format, focus and key questions for the sessions.
Recruit appropriate participants, in line with the criteria set out above.
Provide support to participants before, during and after the sessions as required.
Facilitate discussions in an open and non-directive way.
Compile and submit to the Cass Review team an accurate and comprehensive written report of the outputs from each focus group, including an anonymised profile of participants – age, expressed gender identity, whether they have accessed GIDs, region that they are resident.
Attend a meeting with the Cass Review team to discuss learning from the sessions.
The Review team set the questions explored through the group sessions. While the support organisations could pose additional questions, it was expected that the topics/questions put forward by the Review team would remain the main focus of discussion.
I'm not putting my trust in any group at this time, weka. Picking sides at this early stage of my learning seems irresponsible to me. I'll keep reading from the various camps and treat each issue with an open mind, as best I can.
you literally just said that PATHA's position sounded reasonable, and I pointed out they told a blatant lie, and you want to equivocate with me over trust?
It's not early. We have been talking about this on TS for years, and the debate has been raging internationally for longer. Children have been damaged because of organisations like PATHA. Please go read the Cass review post and inform yourself.
like I said to Phil yesterday, I have some sympathy for people trying to get their head around this complex situation. Hard this late in the game. But at some point the ignorance becomes wilful. You've been in these debates for some time, this isn't an early stage for you either.
"you literally just said that PATHA's position sounded reasonable, and I pointed out they told a blatant lie, and you want to equivocate with me over trust?"
I said it sounded reasonable. Are you expecting me to abandon my opinion after just one claim from you?
YOU may "have been talking about this on TS for years", but others might like to form their own views in light of the present situation with the release of a report and responses from various agencies appearing on the internet.
Is a case of your way, or the highway?
Or should we just rename The Standard, The Stroppery?
Does this mean that even lies are useful in forming an opinion?
Perhaps in a philosophical way they are as they can point towards a truth. To do this though we need to know the truth or the least worst way of looking at something.
We need to look at: are these orgs or people that can be trusted?
Trying to get a handle on this is laudable but perhaps late.
As a personal view the lack of a base of knowledge does not seemed to have stopped you from commenting on womens rights/trans views over all the years that these topics have been raised.
Having learned how to research it is usual to get the accepted view under your belt. Then branch out to see commentators.
I would start with the Cass Review, incl the terms of reference, then read and then look up every single footnote. You will then get a view on the sources that this establishment view found relevant and those that it did not. Then look at comentators such as BMJ etc. Once you have the prevailing views then branch out….widening the circle.
Cass set a high bar in not accepting views that did meet her threshhold of what constituted good research procedure-wise.
In doing research as a newcomer we can become confused if we look at commentary before we know what the issues are. It just become like a smorgasboard or a pick & mix. Just a gigantic mush
This is a concept that should be familar across many spheres even including art. We learn all the rules about mark marking in visual art before we have the competence to break them. If we do this before having a deep understanding of the 'rules' our art is often amateurish and people just think we don't 'know' about making art
"Does this mean that even lies are useful in forming an opinion?"
I commented "sounded reasonable" – it did, in my opinion.
weka claimed "lies". I don't know if weka was correct in their claim; they provided bullet points in support.
I've reserved my judgement in anticipation of more evidence. I reckon that's reasonable.
"Having learned how to research it is usual to get the accepted view under your belt. Then branch out to see commentators."
I'm well aware that this is the view shared here, however, I liken commenting on this issue to other issues, especially those that interest me the most; soil health, for example. If a commenter said something naive about that topic, I'd be pleased enough that they cared to think about it, rather than demand they do their homework. Even if they continued to question the need for a living soil, or whatever, I'd think they were engaging and potentially turning over rocks that might otherwise have disappeared from view. I'm not claiming to do that btw – best to make every nuance of my comment crystal clear for fear of being accused of opacity 🙂
Also (not only but) if a commenter with my interest in lefty issues wasn't able to comment on this particular topic; women's rights/trans, there'd be bugger-all else to talk about, bar WWIII.
weka claimed "lies". I don't know if weka was correct in their claim; they provided bullet points in support.
No Robert, I provided the standard TS level of evidence: my explanation, some supporting quotes and a link to back up the claim.
This is where the wilful ignorance bit comes in. If you won't inform yourself even when the information is laid out in front of you, that's one thing. But when you then misrepresent the nature of that information, that is a problem for the rest of us.
You have missed my point. If you actually did know and read the Cass Review in depth you wouldn't actually be ascribing 'reasonableness' to the PATHA link.
As a learner you'd be asking how is it that this group seems not to believe the Cass Review? Seeking guidance that may not have been apparent to you as a learner.
You came out as though it may be a truth or at least 'reasonable' which had you read and inwardly digested Cass you would not have. The review is not that difficult to understand.
A more advanced learner might be carefully reading but probably coming to the Mandy Rice-Davies conclusion
"Well they would say that wouldn't they?'
You haven't commented on how you were able to comment on many of the Women's rights/trans posts here over the years, with no tentativeness or wish for learning, without this background that you are reading in the Cass Review?
You have posited views many, many times that have involved many of us in getting material or expressing views only to find now that in fact actually you hadn't read up, or know the issues. To say it feels like somewhat of a betrayal to have been misled like this is an understatement.
"This is a concept that should be familar across many spheres even including art. We learn all the rules about mark marking in visual art before we have the competence to break them. If we do this before having a deep understanding of the 'rules' our art is often amateurish and people just think we don't 'know' about making art"
Children then, cannot be artists until they have been taught the rules of art?
Picasso famously described his anguish at having to unlearn his teachings in order to draw like a child again.
You may be interested too, in The Fool card from the tarot deck, and the trickster figure from so many different indigenous cultural story-telling traditions, including and especially our own Māui tiki tiki a Taranga.
Robert I used art as an example to show how this step by step reading/learning goes. I have a degree in fine art and learning art is somewhat of a topic in the art world with some saying you have to be a natural at art to learn art and others saying that art, like any other discipline can reveal itself by step by step learning. Of course there are exceptions of course there are the naive artists.
Naive artists though are few. Talented people who have a possible head start in eye hand coordination are many and can be taught further.
Of more wonder is the story I heard from a teacher who believed children can be taught and recognise what we believe might be advanced concepts. He taught 5-7 year olds how to do perspective, at an adult level with looking at a mathematical approach, including infinity.
He said children knew that they were not drawing how their eyes saw the world. They were able to relate to what was being taught and were joyous at the idea of being able to show walls etc instead of a flat surface.
In general when researching step by step works best…..working out from a known source to wider views, practices.
"you literally just said that PATHA's position sounded reasonable, and I pointed out they told a blatant lie, and you want to equivocate with me over trust?"
I said it sounded reasonable. Are you expecting me to abandon my opinion after just one claim from you?
I think this indicates that you don't have the knowledge from Cass Review under your belt. If you had you would not be saying phrases like 'one claim from you.' You would have known that what PATHA was saying did not line up with what the Cass Review had said. You might even have been able to utter/think the famous Mandy Rice-Davies phrase 'well they would say that wouldn't they?"
I said it sounded reasonable. Are you expecting me to abandon my opinion after just one claim from you?
No. If I were merely making a claim I would expect people to scroll on by.
Instead, I spent a five days reading the various commentaries on the Cass report before I put up a whole post. That post includes references that people who want to inform themselves can read.
I also addressed Phil's inane comments specifically because I had done all that reading and knew he didn't know what he was talking about. He was was someone making a casual claim and he was just flat out wrong.
This morning I responded to your own claim of 'sounds reasonable' with,
my considerable experience in reading about the responses to the CR
an explanation of how PATHA are wrong
links to back that up
Others have also provided commentary on this. We are not the ones making 'just one claim'.
I have seen you in conversations like this over time, and it's always the same. You can take any position you like, but you cannot on TS not expect to be criticised for that position.
Call TS whatever you like, but when any regular here puts up highly misleading commentary, there will be pushback, and if they don't acknowledge the mistake, then there is likely to be comment on that too. Stroppery or robust debate, we are one of the few places online that holds a standard of truth. It takes work to do that, which is why some of us take a very dim view of lies and obfuscation on important political topics. If you think I am out of line here, you can look at how lprent deals with such comments on other topics.
If you don't believe me about the CR then make an actual argument backed up by something real, not some useless propaganda talking points from an organisation that itself has been critiqued by Cass and where those talking points have already been roundly criticised.
It’s shocking to see such a significant inquiry into transgender health completely disregard the voices of transgender experts. It would be like reviewing women’s health with no women, or Māori health with no Māori involved.
Oh, you mean like that time Stats NZ decided to prioritise gender identity data over biological sex across its organisation and consulted with rainbow groups but didn't talk to any women's groups?
The care and concern demonstrated for trans people individually and as a class throughout the documents is evident and to be applauded. What I don’t understand is why this isn’t also being seen as an issue for women. If the intention is to largely replace sex data with gender data, then why have women not been consulted in this given sex is central to a wide range of experiences of being biologically female in NZ society?
In their process of developing changes to the standards, Stats NZ convened an external expert advisory group in 2019 to assist with aspects of the review. There were no women’s groups represented.
that was one of the more risible parts of PATHA's response. The Cass review was for NHS England. It took into account international research, but it's purpose was UK focused.
But imagine if drugs and surgeries in other areas of medicine were being critiqued internationally and a group said, oh that doesn't apply to NZ.
PATHA are sounding a tad pre-emptively defensive there 😉
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
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I just found this link to an interview with Derrick Jensen. Environmentalist, "old growth leftie", who is surprised as to what got him cancelled. Writing about blowing up dams, no-one cared but question modern queer theory you get cancelled. HT Dark Waters on Daily Blog.
It is an hour and a half and does have some good insights.
Interesting move for Jensen to be interviewed by Southern.
Jensen's A Language Older Than Words was hugely influential on my deep green politics back in the day. I hung out on one of his forums for a while, in this Salmon/blow up dams years.
Him and the Deep Greens got absolute shit for their defence of material reality and sex based rights. Tbf they were pretty rude about transwomen, but as we all eventually learn, being kind isn't a successful strategy.
You might enjoy this if you have seen it.
Short version
https://youtu.be/PJsf5QY12rg?si=zBIjoixv2SHVIlT8
Long version
https://youtu.be/Cb3-tlyuhVo?si=4DkeJf7bDu7KH4Gb
you can follow the breadcrumbs from that. Jensen knows what he is doing here but many of the hard core identitarians won't get past the mention of paedophilia and queer theory 🤷♀️ The value is for the people trying to figure out what tf is going on in this whole thing.
I am far from a scholar of queer theory.
From what DJ is quoting elements of it sure sounds a tad fringe. I trust there isn't a lack of context.
He's talking about the origins of QT as a way of demonstrating the connections between QT and child sexual abuse. It's not that all of QT is paedophiliac, it's that the culture of QT is centred in highly valuing transgression and this undermines child safeguarding, allowing people who want child sex to be legal/tolerated to find some power.
He names Focault, Gayle Rubin, Pat Califia, Judith Butler, all people highly influential in QT. Butler is contemporary, and recently released a book. She is a very influential academic.
Most people who call themselves queer wouldn't know who most of those people are. But the reason it's such a problem now is because No Debate means no critique can be made publicly without accusations of transphobia or homophobia.
You can see the disconnect in the video. When show evidence of child sexual abuse apologia, instead of engage with the evidence and testing its robustness, the QT students are hurling accusations that in today's world are often damaging.
It's the same dynamic as why it took a 4 year independent medical system review to look at child and youth gender transition in the UK. Because the people who were raising concerns were shut down and the rest of the people who would otherwise have looked at the safeguarding issues were too scared to. People lost their jobs, marriages, careers, friends over this.
It's also finds expression in Rainbow culture. Pride was originally an adult celebration of adult homosexuality. Now it's trying to be family friendly, which means you have men exhibiting their sexual fetishes in public with children. Again, when people try to point this out, there is denial and ostracisation.
And because the progressive voices have been so successfully shut down, the debate is now terribly skewed to the right. Hence Brian Tamaki and co painting of rainbow crossings, the liberal left up in arms about that, and you and I are talking in yesterdays DR instead of there being front page posts all week about the Cass Review, Giggle v Tickle, and some dude in the North America who has just won a legal court case that will mean he can use public health services to have a neovagina created while retaining his penis. Because that's his gender identity.
Thanks for the overview.
There are parallels described in the Believe the Children episode of the Things Fell Apart podcast.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-ep-4-believe-the-children/id1592984136?i=1000540368101
That phenomena of strange bedfellows (Southern, Peterson, Tamaki) is rendered all the more stark with the lack of natural allies from the progressive "left". (The "Punching down" and pedancy around phrasing/wordgames crowd).
Jensen's reference to old growth lefty resonates, but less from a wild nature lens more from a worker/class standpoint.
From Wanda Sykes, black US comedian:
“To me, the whole complaint about cancel culture is a lot of men — especially straight men — who are just pissed that they can’t say things any more, y’know?” Sykes explained, “And it’s not like you can’t say these things. You can say them, but now there’s just consequences.” Sykes continued, "That’s why I say I can’t get canceled. Only God can say: ‘All right, Wanda, that’s enough.’”
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/wanda-sykes-says-%E2%80%98cancel-culture%E2%80%99-is-just-code-for-consequences.5269804/
Women who have been cancelled because of speaking out about women's sex based rights
Alison Bailey, black, feminist, lesbian, long time activist for racial equality and LGB rights.
Kathleen Stock, feminist lesbian philosopher.
Jo Phoenix, feminist, lesbian, criminologist
Ten examples of women in the UK who have been assaulted or threatened physically when talking about women's sex based rights
https://sex-matters.org/posts/freedom-of-speech/the-escalating-campaign-of-intimidation-and-violence-against-gender-critical-women/
that's a short list off the top of my head. There are many more.
The biggest concern ain't the cancelling, it's the societal zeitgiest that give the cancelling some mana. Followers and such.
Ironically I be came aware of some of the concept of the few who are beyond being cancelled. Taylor Swift and Joe Rogan are two examples.
Supporting new fossil fuel development? "What'choo talkin' 'bout,
WillisLuxon?"James Shaw, telling it like it actually is – Parliament's loss![sad sad](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/sad_smile.png)
“Global emissions must be halved by the end of the decade” – that’s 2030, Shane.
How a cult captured the NHS: society fails when it treats children like adults
Kathleen Stock aptly sums up "gender affirming care" of minors: https://unherd.com/2024/04/the-liberal-lessons-of-the-cass-report/?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups%5B0%5D=18743&tl_period_type=3&utm_source=UnHerd+Today&utm_campaign=a9d7da6ff9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_04_12_08_39&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79fd0df946-a9d7da6ff9-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D
As anyone who drives in Auckland knows, whatever the amount is, it is a lot.
https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2024/04/12/nzta-does-not-know-how-much-it-spends-on-cones/
Saunders' nit-picking about investment in the safety and well being of workers and the public personifies the right's total disregard for anything other than their own bottom dollar. Fuck ém.
weka
13 April 2024 at 8:04 pm
Women who have been cancelled because of speaking out about women's sex based rights… (lists women)
Drowsy M. Kram
12 April 2024 at 9:59 pm
it's the same thing Robert.
How so?
It's peak patriarchy on both counts.
5,000 years of suppressing women because we embody nature and here humans are about to kill nature itself.
It's not a coincidence that transhumanism is arising at the same time as a full assault on women's rights at the same time as we all ignore impending collapse of biosphere.
The only way out is via embodiment, of ourselves and nature, and we cannot do that without women, from whom we all come.
Missed a bit of context there – Robert (again).
– two different completely different threads;
– weka was participating in a conversation with others putting her own thoughts down;
– Drowsy M Kram was initiating one with their style of posting links to mostly other people's reckons – (which is fine, just not usually good at creating momentum);
– your comment (as it stands) with no editorial – reads as an admonishment to weka for (ironically) talking about women's right's – because Drowsy M Kram's comment is standing there all lonely without someone looking after it.
I'm pointing this out because it is Sunday morning and I'm feeling charitable and thinking perhaps you ARE completely unaware of how your comment can be read by others.
You know, Molly, you're right!
Thanks for pointing this out; your Sunday morning charitability is much appreciated.
Since you are so appreciative, here's another suggestion.
Drowsy's comment is still standing alone in the TS playground. Instead of replying to me, go and play with him in the game you obviously prefer…![wink wink](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png)
Love the playground allusion!
Again, grateful for your kindness!
I thought RG's point was why spend time on this fringe issue when faced with the immediacy of the climate crisis. He's not wrong, apart for his idea that women's sex based rights are fringe and not intrinsically linked to the climate crisis
He will probably equivocate now about my use of the term fringe instead of addressing the substantive points, but I thought it was worth saying how I saw it.
"I thought RG's point was why spend time on this fringe issue when faced with the immediacy of the climate crisis."
Not really. "Two years to save the world" did catch my eye though. The subject of women's sex based rights does come up a lot on The Standard these days. I've long been an advocate for the position that the patriarchy and the state of the planet are intimately linked, and also for the proposal that women were/are/will be the kaitiaki taiao needed if we are to survive much longer. I also believe and profess that indigenous cultures that have maintained a close animistic connection to the living world hold the understanding of how to establish right relationships between humans and non-humans and in particular, the women from those communities and in particular, the older women there.
Transhumanism though – there's a topic!
good to hear this restated Robert!
I agree – his unstated point – was to make that distinction.
It reads to me as someone who is telling others what they are to prioritise and spend their energy on.
The sideways approach to telling women to stop talking. (I also note that Drowsy's comment is still sans replies.)
A real "Do as I say, not as I do" comment.
btw, a post about Cass going up this morning (if I get it finished), in case you are around.
got bogged down in it, so might not get it up today. It's really hard to write a post on this that isn't a novel.
"It's really hard to write a post on this that isn't a novel."
I think it's impossible to be honest. Can only be broken down into small – but still very dense – segments.
this is meant to be an introduction 😬
Just clearing out my bookmarks, and this is good link to Alasdair Gunn from Genspect, talking about the treatment of chidren. (Link provides transcript, which I prefer to watching the video)
https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/how-the-gender-industry-has-parasitized-peoples-emotions-alasdair-gunn-on-the-spike-in-teens-seeking-to-transition-5470406?&utm_medium=AmericanThoughtLeaders&utm_source=YouTube&utm_campaign=AlasdairGunn&utm_content=8-17-2023
sent you an email
Weka
There was a good press release from SUFW on X and now I see that Peter Davis has also put up something linking to BMJ
https://twitter.com/SpeakUp4WomenNZ
thanks, got both of those. Who is Peter Davis?
Presumably this one, weka – not Helen Clark's husband of the same name, lol.
https://twitter.com/PeterByardDavis
Thanks so much for all your work and input into the major (definitely NOT fringe) issue of maintaining and protecting women's hard fought for rights – here on TS and elsewhere. As for your patience with some commenters (RG in particular) on this subject, I certainly could not maintain my composure as you do … !!!
UPDATE – see you found him, but still want to pass on my thanks.
Peter Byard Davis is Helen Clark's husband.
Oops! Thanks for that.
I should have checked further, knowing that Helen C's hubbie is a sociologist!
I appreciate many of your posts here, joe90.
do you mean Helen Clark's husband? Not finding anything online.
found it. Good for him.
https://twitter.com/PeterByardDavis/status/1778880587576819989
Um..!…the link Davis recommends speaks out against 'advocates and activists' campaigning on this issue…when there is little/no quality evidence…
And also notes that 'no professionals 'took part in this cass report..
And seemingly agrees with BMJ…that this report should be the stimulus for further research…
Have you read the BMJ piece..?
[I’ve addressed your very poorly framed points below. I have some sympathy for people trying to get up to speed with what is a complex situation. But this is a major medical scandal where multiple children have been damaged for life. I have zero tolerance for lies and propaganda. From now on, if you want to comment on the Cass report or related issues, you will have to do the following every time
If you fail to do those things each time, I will simply take you out of the debate. If you think this is harsh or unfair, read this so you understand what is at stake – weka]
I've done little for five days but read about the Cass report, and the BMJ piece was one of the first.
The BMJ editor is talking about genderist/pro-trans umbrella NGOs and TRAs there.
The lack of quality evidence refers to the fact that GIDS and other clinics have been giving puberty blockers and later cross sex hormones and surgeries on kids and young people without adequate medical science to base those treatments on.
That's the scandal Phil, and it's a major part of the Cass Reviews final report. You are woefully under-informed here.
Bullshit. Hilary Cass is a professional. She worked with a university. The review was overseen by medical professionals.
What the BMJ is referring to is the fact that nearly all the adult gender clinics in the UK refused to share data with Cass so that she could look at the evidence for whether children treated with affirmation only were being helped existed.
Those clinics have now been told to release teh information by the government, and there is going to be a similar kind of review into the adult clinics as the child ones.
Let that sink in. Medical professionals refused to share crucial information with an independent review that was trying to see if children were being harmed by medical treatment.
Maybe you should take that up with BMj/Pete davis.?…I am just passing their words on..
And I read the admonition to 'activists and advocates' re paucity of reliable evidence to campaign on..
..to be also addressed to the antis such as yourself..
Me..?…I don't have enough evidence to have any certainty on this issue..
And it would seem that applies to pretty much anyone pontificating one way or the other…
And I was quite amused by you and veuto posting something that wasn't what you thought..and that actually tells you to taiho…and to wait for some real/credible evidence.
What is your reaction to that admonition/advice..?
the only reason you're not getting a ban right now is because I have to go out. Read the mod note and respond, you only get one chance at this.
I am telling you you are wrong about Davis' tweet and the BMJ editorial. I'm saying that as someone who has been following this debate closely for 7 years and has been reading a huge amount of analysis in the past 5 days. You simply have the completely wrong end of the stick here.
What have I got wrong about the BMJ article..and Davis's twitter comment..?
Are you saying you know more than BMJ..?
As I said..they are their words..not mine..
I repeat ..what have I misinterpreted from the BMJ piece…?
I mean..it’s a short article..and a tweet..quite easy to read/understand .
You may disagree with them…but why should you jump all over me..for reading/reporting .on yr misreported links..?
Links that question your stance..?
mod note. please acknowledge you have read and understood.
I am talking about what BMJ..and Pete davis said…
I am not saying this..as I said .I am agnostic on this issue ..due to lack of evidence..
And I am commenting on links you and veuto put up..noting they say the opposite to what you thought…
So .really..w.t.f..?..eh..?
Can I suggest people actually read links before posting them..
What 'lies and propaganda..?
This is the British medical Journal .and Pete davis..
Both links that you and veuto posted..?
That you disagree with their conclusions..leads you to accuse me of posting 'lies and propaganda'…?..once again…w.t.f..!
I have read..and I have understood ..
It's quite simple/clear..what's not to understand…?
I think I need a joint ..
Aahh..!!..that's better..!..
A nice mix of indoor/outdoor..freshly ground coffee beans..consumed looking thru the trees out to the body of water..
I recommend the mix of all that..
What I have understood..is that for me not to be banned here..I cannot comment on any story weka has written/is close to ..
And as a general rule of thumb…I should not interact with weka..if at all possible..
…a tad limiting…but I can live with that…
I shall return to the ghettos of o.m./d.r…and peer out from behind a rock…
You have completely misunderstood the BMJ editorial. I’m not explaining it to you because you’re not listening. The conditions of commenting are in the original mod note. Go and sort your head out and reread it, it’s clear.
I have read and reread the BMJ & Peter Davis' X (Twitter) comment. I cannot work out how Philip Ure has read what he has into it.
Peter Davis makes a couple of comments based on the BMJ which in turn has some quotes from the Cass Report. X (Twitter) imposes character limits hence the shortened writing
This is the complete Tweet from Davis
"The Cass review: an opportunity to unite behind evidence informed care in gender medicine" This is a quote from the title of the BMJ article
"Existing evidence woefully poor; cannot justify current 'over-medicalised' interventions." Davis' words presumably from reading the BMJ. The word in quotes come from the BMJ
'Professionals in the field did not cooperate with Cass' Davis' words presumably from reading the BMJ.
This is link to the article in the BMJ.
https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj.q837
How anyone could read this and think that BMJ did not support the Cass review I do not know.
The BMJ picks up on a crticism of the Cass Report about setting too high a bar with research standards then states
and
and
and
and finally
'People who are gender non-conforming experience stigmatisation, marginalisation, and harassment in every society. They are vulnerable, particularly during childhood and adolescence. The best way to support them, however, is not with advocacy and activism based on substandard evidence. The Cass review is an opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and place evidence informed care at the heart of gender medicine. It is an opportunity not to be missed for the sake of the health of children and young people. It is an opportunity for unity.'
Feeling your pain, Phillip.
Robert, hopefully the setting out of the tweet & analysis and the link to the BMJ article will alleviate some of your pain.
Peter Davis quotes, presumably approvingly,* from the BMJ's review of the Cass report.
* ie he does not allude to anything he disagrees with.
BMJ picks up on some early crticism of Cass and rebuts that.
The Cass review is an opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and place evidence informed care at the heart of gender medicine. It is an opportunity not to be missed for the sake of the health of children and young people. It is an opportunity for unity.'
https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj.q837
That sounds sensible, Shangreah.
@Robert Guyton
"The Cass review is an opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and place evidence informed care at the heart of gender medicine. It is an opportunity not to be missed for the sake of the health of children and young people. It is an opportunity for unity.'
https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj.q837
That sounds sensible, Shangreah."
Somehow, you missed the preceding sentences in that closing paragraph:
"People who are gender non-conforming experience stigmatisation, marginalisation, and harassment in every society. They are vulnerable, particularly during childhood and adolescence. The best way to support them, however, is not with advocacy and activism based on substandard evidence. "
I am someone who believes respect needs to be earned. But sometimes it is also lost.
I have no idea what point you are trying to make, Molly, nor why you are offering your opinion to me.
Perhaps you're just bored?
@Robert Guyton
"I have no idea what point you are trying to make, Molly, nor why you are offering your opinion to me.
Perhaps you're just bored?"
Just because I personally find you boorish, doesn't mean I am bored, or that I will ignore your comments if I consider them a misdirection.
This is a public discussion platform, and the thread is discussing a major medical scandal that is becoming harder to deny.
I comment – sometimes – because I believe there are some who seek to diminish the necessary attention and consideration on this issue – and whose efforts in that direction make it much harder to rectify and avoid further unnecessary harm.
For me – you are firmly in that camp.
Your work here is invaluable, Molly. Know that we value you most high!
@Robert Guyton
Part of integrity is not saying things you don't mean, Robert.
If you have nothing to contribute of relevance on this significant issue, have you considered just reading?
Double bad in my books Weka.
First from the Hippocratic oath that all Drs take
Ensuring patient safety is at the heart of the Hippocratic Oath: First, Do No Harm
The notion “do no harm” embodies the medical ethics principle of “non-maleficence”, that is to refrain from doing any harm first, before doing any good.
beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and respect for the patient's autonomy
First do no harm
various links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath#:~:text=It%20is%20often%20said%20that,wrong%2Ddoing%20and%20harm%22.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5747024/#:~:text=Some%20UK%20schools%20use%20the,of%20the%20oath%20%5B11%5D.
I'm not a Dr but surely the harm from puberty blockers and surgical interventions is/was known. The harm should have been first and foremost in a Dr's mind per Hippocratic oath. Quite apart from the gross known harm ie puberty blockers are not able to be reversed and botched surgical redesigns of sexual organs are well known, these humans acting in an almost God-like capacity really bother me. Sexual response to orgasm can be completely lost on children/adults who have been subject to ‘trans’ ‘work’. And someone decided that this was Ok when that child was pre teen. I don't understand how parents/Drs can do this to anyone.
The second bad is that these Drs were working in the public sector/public sector adjacent and presumably had contracts or other documents plus money from the Govt. Having worked in health when we had a contracting model I know that any group who refused to supply info would
a have had their staff referred to the appropriate professional medical society they belonged to
b had any accreditations pulled from them, leading to
c pausing of funds until a & b had been had been fixed
d our high powered audit team/plus teams from the funder of the general medical services fees (the way Drs are funded) would be there before the records could be 'lost'
e pausing of further funding on an interim basis even before any referrals
Of course these take time.
It may be that the intransigence will serve the Cass Report well in that the Drs are not actually covering themselves with glory in not providing the info. Actually if you read Hannah Barnes book 'Time to Think' you will note that several of those speaking to her (ie former employees) had expressed concern about not recording and not reviewing.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/19/time-to-think-by-hannah-barnes-review-what-went-wrong-at-gids
not as an excuse but as context, in the US there is significant culture in medicine around avoiding legal liability by overtreating or treating along specific pathways.
In socialised medicine countries I think this still happens but more along the lines of giving the patient what they want. This is part of why antibiotics have been overprescribed despited doctors knowing the risks. It's a weird contradiction, but in the US it's tied up with the agenda of insurance companies and what they will and won't cover as well.
Add to that, I don't think we can over-estimate the degree to which ideology is a factor here. Lots of theories on why people go along with it in the way they do, but I don't see it definitively explained. We just know it's there.
I've been thinking about this interview with Helen Joyce where she talks about how parents who have transed their kids have to stay ideologically committed to that for the rest of their lives, because they've caused so much harm to their child that they can't never undo.
https://youtu.be/ZG9_lcln7FU?t=4045
I wonfder if this is a factor for some medical people too.
I also think that there are doctors in it for the glory. The surgeons in particular who are honing their skills on the genitals and breasts of teenagers. Those ones can get fucked.
It is the children that I really get riled up about.
A girl child I know of had a phase of telling her mother "I a boy, I a boy". From this in the next few years up until now this child was subjected to all sorts of chemical interventions.
This idea, as a child, that you wish to be another thing is common and non worrying to most parents, kids grow out of it or parents/GP undertake watchful waiting.
Puberty for young people is a difficult time. We all know it. Psychologists and child development experts know it. Body changes, hormone fluctuations, social engagement, distancing from family, peer connections all have significant impacts on individuals. Many women will be able to relate how dealing with menstruation and body changes was often a cause for embarrassment or shame. The development of their bodies often attracting unwanted attention or comment – both from strangers and sometimes from previously trusted adults. Men have their own stories of this period. They are significantly different.
Self-exploration and understanding is a major part of that period. Fluidity in presentation, identification and connections is not only expected, but an aid in defining your adult self.
I grieve for the vulnerability of the young people caught up in this. The autistic, the non-regressive-stereotypical, the same-sex oriented, the ones with co-morbidities.
I hope that many have adopted an identity that required no interventions – and they will be able to walk away unscathed by a need for long-term medical treatment. For others, that have permanent outcomes to deal with, we need to demand high-quality, accessible, ongoing support.
I agree with all of this Molly.
Going down a path that is non reversible is tragic. It completely in my view blows out the concept of 'first do no harm'. This concept is not try to find the way then check that it is not harmful. That is of sizing up a child as a possibilty for intervention from the time the child walks through the door. It works in a reverse way.
I accept that Drs do have this expectation that they will do something to help us ie prescribe something…so much so that MOH/GPs were on a programme to deter antibiotics use where they were not needed.
You can see how young the girl child I was referring to by the language used 'I a boy, I a boy.' This was not a pre teen but rather perhaps a pre schooler.
This to me is a clear example of what might be behind some of this ideology.
It's those same old ideas / questions that can be asked when you want to find out who might be behind various things (at least to some extent) You can 'follow the money' and / or ask "who benefits?"
In this example the child doesn't benefit, the parents don't benefit (except maybe in their own minds in the short term). The beneficiary here is whoever produces, pushes and distributes the said chemicals, which would be everybody's friend, the pharmaceutical industry.
I see the Cass review has/is being covered here. Great.
Sorry I don't very the Standard much nowadays.
I will try and catch up with what has been and what hasn't been covered
Not everyone's so delighted with the report.
How do we regard The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa here on The Standard?
The points they have made in their first few paragraphs sound reasonable.
https://patha.nz/News/13341582
"The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) is disappointed to see the number of harmful recommendations made by the NHS-commissioned Cass Review, released yesterday in England. This review ignores the consensus of major medical bodies around the world and lacks relevance in an Aotearoa context."
"The final Cass Review did not include trans or non-binary experts or clinicians experienced in providing gender affirming care in its decision-making, conclusions, or findings. Instead, a number of people involved in the review and the advisory group previously advocated for bans on gender affirming care in the United States, and have promoted non-affirming ‘gender exploratory therapy’, which is considered a conversion practice."
It’s shocking to see such a significant inquiry into transgender health completely disregard the voices of transgender experts. It would be like reviewing women’s health with no women, or Māori health with no Māori involved.
it's a blatant lie.
From the Cass Review website,
https://cass.independent-review.uk/contribute-to-the-review/lived-experience-focus-groups/
The groups they engaged were
Might be time to review who you are putting your trust in Robert.
I'm not putting my trust in any group at this time, weka. Picking sides at this early stage of my learning seems irresponsible to me. I'll keep reading from the various camps and treat each issue with an open mind, as best I can.
you literally just said that PATHA's position sounded reasonable, and I pointed out they told a blatant lie, and you want to equivocate with me over trust?
It's not early. We have been talking about this on TS for years, and the debate has been raging internationally for longer. Children have been damaged because of organisations like PATHA. Please go read the Cass review post and inform yourself.
like I said to Phil yesterday, I have some sympathy for people trying to get their head around this complex situation. Hard this late in the game. But at some point the ignorance becomes wilful. You've been in these debates for some time, this isn't an early stage for you either.
"you literally just said that PATHA's position sounded reasonable, and I pointed out they told a blatant lie, and you want to equivocate with me over trust?"
I said it sounded reasonable. Are you expecting me to abandon my opinion after just one claim from you?
YOU may "have been talking about this on TS for years", but others might like to form their own views in light of the present situation with the release of a report and responses from various agencies appearing on the internet.
Is a case of your way, or the highway?
Or should we just rename The Standard, The Stroppery?
Does this mean that even lies are useful in forming an opinion?
Perhaps in a philosophical way they are as they can point towards a truth. To do this though we need to know the truth or the least worst way of looking at something.
We need to look at: are these orgs or people that can be trusted?
Trying to get a handle on this is laudable but perhaps late.
As a personal view the lack of a base of knowledge does not seemed to have stopped you from commenting on womens rights/trans views over all the years that these topics have been raised.
Having learned how to research it is usual to get the accepted view under your belt. Then branch out to see commentators.
I would start with the Cass Review, incl the terms of reference, then read and then look up every single footnote. You will then get a view on the sources that this establishment view found relevant and those that it did not. Then look at comentators such as BMJ etc. Once you have the prevailing views then branch out….widening the circle.
Cass set a high bar in not accepting views that did meet her threshhold of what constituted good research procedure-wise.
In doing research as a newcomer we can become confused if we look at commentary before we know what the issues are. It just become like a smorgasboard or a pick & mix. Just a gigantic mush
This is a concept that should be familar across many spheres even including art. We learn all the rules about mark marking in visual art before we have the competence to break them. If we do this before having a deep understanding of the 'rules' our art is often amateurish and people just think we don't 'know' about making art
"Does this mean that even lies are useful in forming an opinion?"
I commented "sounded reasonable" – it did, in my opinion.
weka claimed "lies". I don't know if weka was correct in their claim; they provided bullet points in support.
I've reserved my judgement in anticipation of more evidence. I reckon that's reasonable.
"Having learned how to research it is usual to get the accepted view under your belt. Then branch out to see commentators."
I'm well aware that this is the view shared here, however, I liken commenting on this issue to other issues, especially those that interest me the most; soil health, for example. If a commenter said something naive about that topic, I'd be pleased enough that they cared to think about it, rather than demand they do their homework. Even if they continued to question the need for a living soil, or whatever, I'd think they were engaging and potentially turning over rocks that might otherwise have disappeared from view. I'm not claiming to do that btw – best to make every nuance of my comment crystal clear for fear of being accused of opacity 🙂
Also (not only but) if a commenter with my interest in lefty issues wasn't able to comment on this particular topic; women's rights/trans, there'd be bugger-all else to talk about, bar WWIII.
No Robert, I provided the standard TS level of evidence: my explanation, some supporting quotes and a link to back up the claim.
This is where the wilful ignorance bit comes in. If you won't inform yourself even when the information is laid out in front of you, that's one thing. But when you then misrepresent the nature of that information, that is a problem for the rest of us.
You have missed my point. If you actually did know and read the Cass Review in depth you wouldn't actually be ascribing 'reasonableness' to the PATHA link.
As a learner you'd be asking how is it that this group seems not to believe the Cass Review? Seeking guidance that may not have been apparent to you as a learner.
You came out as though it may be a truth or at least 'reasonable' which had you read and inwardly digested Cass you would not have. The review is not that difficult to understand.
A more advanced learner might be carefully reading but probably coming to the Mandy Rice-Davies conclusion
"Well they would say that wouldn't they?'
You haven't commented on how you were able to comment on many of the Women's rights/trans posts here over the years, with no tentativeness or wish for learning, without this background that you are reading in the Cass Review?
You have posited views many, many times that have involved many of us in getting material or expressing views only to find now that in fact actually you hadn't read up, or know the issues. To say it feels like somewhat of a betrayal to have been misled like this is an understatement.
"This is a concept that should be familar across many spheres even including art. We learn all the rules about mark marking in visual art before we have the competence to break them. If we do this before having a deep understanding of the 'rules' our art is often amateurish and people just think we don't 'know' about making art"
Children then, cannot be artists until they have been taught the rules of art?
Picasso famously described his anguish at having to unlearn his teachings in order to draw like a child again.
You may be interested too, in The Fool card from the tarot deck, and the trickster figure from so many different indigenous cultural story-telling traditions, including and especially our own Māui tiki tiki a Taranga.
Note: I'm NOT classifying myself thus.
Robert I used art as an example to show how this step by step reading/learning goes. I have a degree in fine art and learning art is somewhat of a topic in the art world with some saying you have to be a natural at art to learn art and others saying that art, like any other discipline can reveal itself by step by step learning. Of course there are exceptions of course there are the naive artists.
Naive artists though are few. Talented people who have a possible head start in eye hand coordination are many and can be taught further.
Of more wonder is the story I heard from a teacher who believed children can be taught and recognise what we believe might be advanced concepts. He taught 5-7 year olds how to do perspective, at an adult level with looking at a mathematical approach, including infinity.
He said children knew that they were not drawing how their eyes saw the world. They were able to relate to what was being taught and were joyous at the idea of being able to show walls etc instead of a flat surface.
In general when researching step by step works best…..working out from a known source to wider views, practices.
I think this indicates that you don't have the knowledge from Cass Review under your belt. If you had you would not be saying phrases like 'one claim from you.' You would have known that what PATHA was saying did not line up with what the Cass Review had said. You might even have been able to utter/think the famous Mandy Rice-Davies phrase 'well they would say that wouldn't they?"
No. If I were merely making a claim I would expect people to scroll on by.
Instead, I spent a five days reading the various commentaries on the Cass report before I put up a whole post. That post includes references that people who want to inform themselves can read.
I also addressed Phil's inane comments specifically because I had done all that reading and knew he didn't know what he was talking about. He was was someone making a casual claim and he was just flat out wrong.
This morning I responded to your own claim of 'sounds reasonable' with,
Others have also provided commentary on this. We are not the ones making 'just one claim'.
I have seen you in conversations like this over time, and it's always the same. You can take any position you like, but you cannot on TS not expect to be criticised for that position.
Call TS whatever you like, but when any regular here puts up highly misleading commentary, there will be pushback, and if they don't acknowledge the mistake, then there is likely to be comment on that too. Stroppery or robust debate, we are one of the few places online that holds a standard of truth. It takes work to do that, which is why some of us take a very dim view of lies and obfuscation on important political topics. If you think I am out of line here, you can look at how lprent deals with such comments on other topics.
If you don't believe me about the CR then make an actual argument backed up by something real, not some useless propaganda talking points from an organisation that itself has been critiqued by Cass and where those talking points have already been roundly criticised.
Oh, you mean like that time Stats NZ decided to prioritise gender identity data over biological sex across its organisation and consulted with rainbow groups but didn't talk to any women's groups?
"Oh, you mean like that time Stats NZ decided to …"
Nope. I didn't mean that.
This is not explained. How? Why have we got 10 times the numbers on irreversible drugs than other western countries?
As it is from a NZ body I am sure they will recognise the NZ vernacular/meaning when I respond by saying
'Yeah right'
in tones of the utmost sarcasm
that was one of the more risible parts of PATHA's response. The Cass review was for NHS England. It took into account international research, but it's purpose was UK focused.
But imagine if drugs and surgeries in other areas of medicine were being critiqued internationally and a group said, oh that doesn't apply to NZ.
PATHA are sounding a tad pre-emptively defensive there 😉
Robert, the recently leaked 'WPATH' files reveal (amongst other things) widespread medical malpractice on children.
Here's a link to the leaked files:
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2024/gaedata/TMY/2024SJ-00004-R000318-Gerber,%20M-Opposes-TMY.PDF
PATHA NZ guidelines for gender affirming health care, etc come directly from WPATH.