Never mind used car salesmen..Those stalwarts of moral virtue have got a deal 4 u!
ANZ has upped the ante, launching an advertised cashback offer with its home loans. The country's biggest bank is offering a $3,000cash contribution for certain home loans taken out. The cash contribution is only available on new home loans fully approved by December 2. They must be 'new' and for $200,000+ with new residential security provided.'
What next minimum trade ins…up to $5000 minimum towards your deposit when you trade in your old banger on a shiny new 30 year mortgage.
lol – pale is racist? stale is ageist? and male is sexist? ffs what a stupid line of reasoning imo – strange you've taken the bait so easily there waggy.
oh and use fulla not falla is my advice for street cred
Why would you use that sentence? Seems to me you are so insecure that you are trying to be a try hard – how about growing up and using the tiny brain you have to debate the point or are you too dim for even that eh boy
btw you sicko – no one would insult a ‘white’ person by saying that to them – shows a lot about you and your deep issues imo
I didn't call it racist, either, and whatever the flavour, the chips on some people's shoulders are always their own head balancers to me, but the articles are quite clear their is a perception pale stale male is used as an insult.
Nope. For certainty, best wait ten minutes before replying. I’ll add an edit only if someone replies before I’ve finished and it changes their comeback. Ta.
I must have gotten distracted after hitting reply. That is not really the point. The point is that people should have a right to know if something has changed since the first time they read it, and that replies may have been drafted based on the original.
It's not my problem how you post comments on The Standard, though as I've written above, if my edit changes the meaning or understanding of another comment made before I've finished, I will tag it as edited.
In this case, in adding two links reporting how pale stale male is recognised as an insult, in context with the thread, no disclaimer was needed. It doesn't or wouldn't have changed your reply, quite clearly, as you haven't mentioned them once since.
On other sites I use, posts are freely editable until someone posts after, at which time they’re tagged and time stamped as edited. Maybe you should petition lprent for something similar.
Akin to the climate around here when controversial moral subjects come up e.g. pot, euthanasia, abortion.
Lump someone with a view at odds with one's own, into a group – anti vaxxers, Trumpians (Trumpets?). Sorted, you can now imply all sorts of undesirable attributes to them and their arguement.
othering? lol – you don't know what that means I think – think about the power dynamics that will help sort it for you imo
Othering is not about liking or disliking someone. It is based on the conscious or unconscious assumption that a certain identified group poses a threat to the favoured group.
I think we're approaching a time when we need to take more care. I don't agree with the reverse racism/sexism part of the article, but I generally agree with his summation, which is what I think he was trying to get at.
Despite the rise of "pale, male and stale" within media discourse and popular culture, it is time to stop and reflect on what it actually is, which is immature name-calling.
Name-calling doesn't advance social causes or arguments. In fact, it does the opposite – it shuts down dialogue. Even worse, it can mean losing allies who were supportive of particular social causes and arguments. Let's return to arguing points, not people.
And of course, the Boomer pejorative fails on class (as well as ageism), because that whole rhetoric makes invisible the elderly poor. Much like Generation Rent which seemed geared towards making gains that previous generations had without acknowledging that poor people have always rented. Didn't hear much about that, or what happens to people who currently retire with no savings and massive rent.
Liberals in particular need to be rethinking this. At the moment we are acting like we're naturally going to win the progressive vs regressive war (because we're righteous, right?), and seem to think we're justified in treating people like shit who aren't on board with whatever issue from a liberal pov. Rising fascism suggests this is a dangerous strategy.
The number of left wing people radicalising away from liberals in the past few years is scary. We can't force people to be liberal and we can't insult them into it either.
I think much of this is a function of social media, and we haven't evolved healthy social norms for dealing with things like the fast pace of change enabled by that, or how to limit the damage from pile ons.
Not suggesting we stop holding wealthy people to account, nor white people for racism and so on. But I do think being more nuanced in our analyses would help, and we desperately need to move to a politics of compassion, calling in, and building relationships across difference.
don't let someone be racist, but address the racism rather than putting the person down? Not saying that is absolute for every situation, but am pointing to the problem we have at the moment of polarisation and how the left tends to think we can force people to change into something we consider better. It's brutal at times and that brutality will not serve society well.
thinking about it, I haven't heard it talked about in a while. It was a concept that arose a few years ago when people started to realise how much damage was being done on social media with pile ons. People were being righteous and calling out racism, sexism, all the isms, but because of the nature of social media the person being called out often ended up humiliated or worse.
So people started talking about the importance of calling people in. Address the racism, sexism etc, in a way that calls people in, helps them belong, enables them to feel like positive change is possible and that they're still valuable as a human being.
From memory, this shift from call out culture to calling in culture arose out of black culture in the US. Or at least that's where I was seeing it come from predominantly, although I saw it spread into other communities as people realised the importance of human connection. I'll see if I can dig up some links.
yeah nah – it's all about who has the power – it is a power trip from the powerful on the less powerful to keep them less powerful and thus retain the power with the powerful.
Othering is not about liking or disliking someone. It is based on the conscious or unconscious assumption that a certain identified group poses a threat to the favoured group.
Well i guess people could say instead "you are a member of the dominant social group and hold the dominant viewpoint of people of that group and this viewpoint has been dominant for a very long time and you should open your mind to the viewpoint and participation of others" but that does sound rather long winded.
For a male, being called, "male" can be completely exposing and once said, can't be unsaid. To avoid being revealed in this way, "one" should dress and act suitably.
There’s a huge mythology that native people here were simpletons, they were primitive, half-naked nomads running around the forest, eating hand-to-mouth whatever they could find. That’s how Europe portrays us. And it’s portrayed us that way for so many centuries that even we’ve started to believe that that’s who we were. The reality is, indigenous nations on this Turtle Island were highly organized.
Articles like these are my bread and butter, marty mars. I wonder if you've read this little extract from somewhere (sorry weka, can't find the link
"I think so many of us have agreements. What I’d like to remind folks is that there was a time on Earth when agriculture didn’t exist. There was the wild plants and animals. People have always been in relationship to them, and I think agriculture as a current concept looks very different in lots of ways. We humans have been shaping the landscape since time immemorial, and we have been in collaboration with all manner of different wild plants and animals for a long, long time. But there was a time in history—some people say it was around 10,000 years ago, although you never know—that there were wild plants. I feel like it was an invitation from the wild, and this is how it’s been told to me. There were wild plants who could see the potential of being in a different sort of relationship with humans, and they invited us into this co-creative dance that we call agriculture.
The plants gave up a little of their wildness, and we humans gave up a little of our wildness too, and we came into this covenant, this sacred covenant or this marriage. In some cultures, it’s spoken of as a marriage. We came into this relationship, and part of those agreements were to take care of one another. We were going to be bound in this reciprocal relationship, to care intimately for one another as we move forward. So that is the foundation of those agreements—that understanding of reciprocity, understanding that when you do well, I do well, and that it is a courtship. There’s an aspect of wanting to ensure that they’re well taken care of, not just because it means nourishment and food for us, but because there’s a deeper sense of love and relationality in that connection."
If you copy and paste a small section of your quote (one sentence will usually do it), and put it in google with " " around each end, it will bring up the link that your quote is from.
There is an expectation here that the person quoting will do that mahi, so that others don't have to. Esp important for people reading on phones because it's much harder to do that kind of search.
That you don't do this puts me in a awkward position, because if you were someone else I'd be moderating by now. I'd appreciate it if you trust the moderators on this, that it's important to cite (with a link where possible) even if it doesn't seem so to you. cheers.
Thanks Incognito. Part of my annoyance at the moment (not with RG specifically, but with how much this is an issue on TS now) is the time I just spent writing that comment could have been spent reading Robert's quote 😉
"Within days of rebel-supplied videos of dead children and adults in the aftermath of the alleged attack in Douma Francois DeLattre, France’s representative at the UN Security Council, said the videos and photos showed victims with “symptoms of a potent nerve agent combined with chlorine gas”.
The Douma fact-finding team quickly discovered this was wrong. Blood and other biological samples taken from alleged victims examined in Turkey (where some had fled after government forces regained control of Douma in mid-April) showed no evidence of nerve agents. Nor was there any in the surrounding buildings or vegetation in Douma. As the Interim Report, published on July 6 2018, put it: “No organophosphorus nerve agents or their degradation products were detected, either in the environmental samples or in plasma samples from the alleged casualties”."
"On July 4 there was another intervention. Fairweather, the chef de cabinet, invited several members of the drafting team to his office. There they found three US officials who were cursorily introduced without making clear which US agencies they represented. The Americans told them emphatically that the Syrian regime had conducted a gas attack, and that the two cylinders found on the roof and upper floor of the building contained 170 kilograms of chlorine. The inspectors left Fairweather’s office, feeling that the invitation to the Americans to address them was unacceptable pressure and a violation of the OPCW’s declared principles of independence and impartiality."
"An open letter to every delegate at the forthcoming OPCW conference calling for the inspectors to be heard has been signed by
Jose Bustani, first Director General of the OPCW
Hans von Sponeck, former UN Humanitarian Coordinator (Iraq)
George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Scott Ritter, UNSCOM Weapons Inspector 1991-1998.
Noam Chomsky, Emeritus Professor, MIT.
John Pilger, Journalist and documentary film maker
Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
Oliver Stone, Film Director, Producer and Writer."
The thing is that anyone with an unbiased view will see that the report that the OPCW did release was full of inconsistencies and omissions.
Very disturbing the appearance of the American officials ,in no uncertain terms dictating the "facts" to those OPCW staff about to write the final report on Douma
Substitute "Russian officials" or "Syrian officials" and stand back for no end of squawking
Just as disturbing UK prosecutors taking instruction from American representatives in the latest Assange court appearance
"What happened next was very instructive. There were five representatives of the US government present (initially three, and two more arrived in the course of the hearing), seated at desks behind the lawyers in court. The prosecution lawyers immediately went into huddle with the US representatives, then went outside the courtroom with them, to decide how to respond on the dates"
I don't worship him – but if you were progressive instead of being the menkurt servants of a murderous kleptiarch you'd have supported the white helmets, and their efforts to help Syrian people.
The common thread between the "dodgy practices of the OPCW " and your demonization of the white helmets of course is that both are part of Moscow created narrative you repeat as thoughtlessly as the sheep in Animal Farm.
Of all the reports and articles provided by on this site it seems you've read none. Of all the Youtube videos the White Helmets have published showing their thuggery and pathetic false flag acting it seems you've chosen to view none.
I guess you dare not for fear of having your ignorance tested, as all you seem to be able to say is "Russia did it. Assad gassed his own people. I don't like Craig Murray."
You're a fool Stuart. That's not an insult just a mere observation.
I wont respond to your comments again. You've nothing to say worth reading let alone replying to.
You're just a parrot Brigid. People who want your perspective need only read RT – it's not as if you analyze anything – which means your opinion is less than worthless, it is in fact a kind of pollution.
The less you intrude your ignorance into grown-up discussion the better.
A very apt connection Stuart After all it was the White Helmets who claimed Douma residents had been killed by nerve agent at the hands of the Syrian govt. The harrowing and widely distributed video was found to be quite misleading. The OPCW found no nerve agent in environmental samples or "victims" who'd made their way to Turkey .The bodies were nowhere to be found
The narrative then changed to weaponised chlorine.This too is disputed by the very team who collected samples in Douma
It also happens to be the only OPCW investigation actually on site with the required chain of custody rules observed
I think I've lost count of the times the Russians have accused the OPCW of lying.
Just as they accused everyone else of lying about MH17, while they produced an endless series of bullshit explanations not realizing how comprehensively contemporary technology had documented their actions.
The Russians are incapable of telling the truth – it has no value to them. And having earned that reputation, they only win mudslinging wars among the credulous 🙂 .
I think it goes a little deeper in fact – to Marxist theory or possibly even to Tzarist times. Back when I was MAF observing, Russian vessels typically kept three or four different sets of books – even asked me on occasion what they should write in the quota record books. The idea that they might record what actually occurred was alien to them.
I am of course aware that international discourse includes a great many lies, but there is a fundamental unconcern for truth in some cases – clarified here if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lArA7nMIqSI
Bit harsh – it's more of a conceptual difference that brings military deception into the strategic and diplomatic level.
When runned by competent leaders, the West tend to tell planned fibs if they want to keep something secret. "Don't believe that, believe this" sort of thing. And then most of the time the actual story leaks out decades later.
The Russians prefer to have multiple arms-length sources make up their own shit about any notable event, so decision-makers get lost in fog. This has the advantage of not just delaying the decision makers, but randoms around the world can pick the theory they like best and adamantly preach it.
No go with your 'conceptual thinking' …they are all bare faced liars …full stop. Only a small portion 'gets out'
in the middle east its the same whether it was Saddam , Erdogan, Assad or Netanyahu.
Have you seen the recent bare faced lies by NZDF …and they couldnt shoot down a low flying balloon…..and the con job they do do on the taxpayer here about 'highly trained but not well equipped'
I relate the habit of untruth in part to the severity of Soviet and quite probably preSoviet oppression. Telling the truth under Stalin was an almost suicidal level of romantic excess. But western countries have traditionally extended some kind of protection, however imperfect, to truth tellers and whistleblowers, so that the notion is, whatever else it might be, not absurd.
NZDF changed their story multiple times, but said only one story at a time.
If they'd followed maskirovka, they'd have said fuckall while various publications were slipped conflicting and massively unlikely alternative explanations to "hit and run".
Things were obviously pretty stressful for us yesterday so I've just caught up with OM. Disappointing, but not at all surprising to see that some people don't consider 'only' 4 possible related deaths aren't enough to satisfy them. And variations on the theme of 'oh well x number of epileptics die every year anyway'. Talking points that are currently being seen in several commenting sections on social media/message boards, and that have originated with Pharmac. So either you're just not creative enough to come up with your own arguments, or you're on the payroll of certain government agencies who are desperately trying to deflect. At least try to be original, ok??
If people STILL sincerely believe Pharmac are in the right over this one, despite ALL the evidence against them, then all I can do is feel very, very sorry for you, suggest you get yourself some intensive counselling for your denial problems and hope that you are never at their mercy.
I'm not going to engage anymore on this for the time being, the stress has made me really ill, and watching Guyon's interview with "Dr" Ken Clark yesterday left me wanting to physically harm the man and I'm not a violent person. Debriefing with my colleagues later, I was not alone!
But a brief summay/conclusion/points to dwell on.
*Medsafe said it's dangerous, don't do it.
*International best practice guidelines said it's dangerous to switch brands, don't do it.
*Pharmac did it
*It's subsequently proven to be dangerous to some people, including possible deaths,
*There are OIA documents showing Pharmac knew there were likely to be problems
*This is all about money, not best clinical practice, not what's best for NZers, as Dr Clark says.
*There is NOT an issue with generics. There is just some categories of drugs where it's not safe to switch brands. Like heavy duty brain drugs. Pharmac will try this again, this is not the first time people have been harmed by this practice
*Pharmac keep crying '"capped budget." We have to ask why does it have to be capped with no real increases for years?
*We should be concerned that senior public servants blatantly lie and deliberately mislead the media, the public, their Ministers and the Health Select Committee, even while being showing the documents that state evidence to the contrary. Is there no code of ethics? Where does employment law come into this? HOW can this keep happening and they don't lose their jobs?
Thanks Kay, appreciate your work on this. I hadn't been following so it was an eye opener yesterday to read one of the comments and a link that showed how many people with epilepsy die (I had no idea) i.e we already know that people are at risk, and how unbelievably stupid Pharmac have been over this given what was known ahead of time.
I was pretty surprised to see the unusually insensitive only 4 deaths comment too.
Those families that have had this happen doesnt help them if there has been a change of meds to something that is chemically the same, but its ‘not considered to be the same’
Epilepsy New Zealand president and neurologist Peter Bergin said the switch could have "major consequences" for a "small but significant" group of people. "I think it's an unnecessary risk that Pharmac have taken.
He said in theory Logem should be the same as the Arrow and Lamictal brands Pharmac had been funding, but the issue was whether it was absorbed into the body at the same rate. "As a neurologist, I'm slightly uncertain about whether the absorption characteristics in the different tablets are going to be exactly the same." He said for most people there would be a 10-20 percent difference in absorption and that would not cause problems, but for some people who had been seizure-free but "who are just on the edge", it could be enough to cause seizure recurrence.
"The real difficulty is that we won't know whether people who have seizures have done so because they've changed the drug. The reality is that even if someone has been seizure-free for a year, there's no guarantee they'll remain seizure-free for the next year."
Thanks for that , I understand its not clear cut if they are identical even if the chemical formula is the same.
I just thought the people scare mongering over 'getting the Police people are dying' side needed to know epilepsy can always cause your death in a number of ways.
In one radio interview a woman said she was carefully making the transition but being easily scared had become very fearful listening the doom laden rhetoric. Maybe we should wait and see if the fault can be identified.
My son's friend died at 27years from a nightime epilepsy event some 5 years ago. Tragic but part of the awful risk from epilepsy but nothing to do with the current changes.
This question has been addressed and was buried in a link in a discussion thread in Open mike 13/11/2019:
SIGNIFICANCE:
Some neurologists question whether bioequivalence in healthy volunteers ensures therapeutic equivalence of brand and generic antiepileptic drugs in patients with epilepsy, who may be at increased risk for problems with brand-to-generic switching. Bioequivalence results in "generic-brittle" patients with epilepsy under clinical conditions support the soundness of the FDA bioequivalence standards. Adverse events on generic were not related to the small, allowable PK differences between generic and brand.
Following up with the bit about necessary health rationing also came across a bit like 'some people have to die'. Which is brutally true but again framing matters.
The thing I'm with most right now is the number of people with a very stressful and scary condition who must be additionally stressed by not knowing what is going on. Just on that level alone questions should be being asked about how this whole thing has been handled.
Fair enough. I think I read it reasonably right at the time and it seemed out of character for you. Not the wanting to apply rationality, but the insensitivity.
"And that fear will in no small part be encouraged by the headlines about deaths that imply causation without evidence"
I was under the impression that critiques in the 12 months before the change that it was clear that there would be negative effects from the change (albeit Pharmac presumably wasn't expecting deaths). Even without MSM current focus on deaths, this was a widely discussed issue for those that were paying attention (i.e. people with epilepsy) and the deaths would have been known about on social media anyway (but with less scrutiny perhaps). I'm sure there's always room for improvement in MSM coverage.
Do you know why they didn't leave existing patients on the old medicine and have new patients on the generic? I gather part of the issue is that where people with epilepsy are stable on one med it's best practice to not mess with that.
They would have wanted as many people on the cheaper labels as possible. This would free up more funds to improve the quality and length of life for other patients.
From what I gather, Pharmac normally go through a pretty solid analysis that does account for quality of life as well as lives extended. So if that process wasn't followed, that would be a bad decision. Alternatively, if they did the transfer and it had worse repercussions than calculated, the question arises as to why the predictions were off.
If that system is broken, fair call. There will be investigations, maybe resignations and hearings, and compensation claims. Otherwise, basically people are lobbying to get more than their fair allocation of health funds.
And there's a conflict between my (admittedly thin) impulse to listen to the fears of people who are about as safe yesterday as they are today, and my impulse to ask how much money we will spend to allay those fears when other people have more demonstrable drug needs.
I'm saying that the declared number seems to be within the range of what one would expect without any label change (40-60 per year). A closer analysis of person/years might demonstrate that change from four cases (or at least make a reasonable basis for concerns it despite wide confidence intervals).
But at this stage there are a lot of discussions on a variety of platforms seemingly suggesting that the label change killed 4 people. Which is a load of bullshit given the available information (and pharmac/carm probably don't have too much more information than already released: specific dates and doses, but possibly not much more).
The number of deaths may be an anomaly but apparently 26 reports of adverse reactions to lamotrigine since brand switch began in May have been reported to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM).
There's reasonably evidence that the theory is right, yeah? (seizures are dangerous for a % of sufferers, changing meds can make seizures more likely).
How would they establish causation in specific cases?
Around 4 people or so die every month who have no obvious causes other than they have epilesy . Some dont even have a siezure and just die in their sleep.
Maybe 5x that number each month have early death due to the burden epilepsy puts on their personal health.
That seems to be unrelated to the brand name of their medications
I haven't engaged in the debate partly because I'm having trouble understanding that they continue in the face of overwhelming evidence, and even death.
YES – police need to be involved as this is criminal.
PHARMAC has reversed their decision so they are not continuing.
At this stage, nobody knows if and how the brand switch may have contributed to any of the four deaths. All we know, from the media reports, is that they had in common being epilepsy sufferers and had switched brands. The deaths have been referred to the coroner.
What “overwhelming evidence” are you referring to?
Hmmm, maybe it’s clearer when reading PHARMAC’s latest press release.
Patients taking lamotrigine who have concerns about the change can talk with their doctor about remaining on their current brand as PHARMAC has widened the criteria for lamotrigine exceptional circumstances.
…
PHARMAC will continue to fund the brand those people are currently on or were originally on before the change through the exceptional circumstances process.
…
“If people have concerns, we encourage them to talk to their doctor. Their doctor can apply to PHARMAC, through our exceptional circumstances process, for continued funding of the brand they took before the funding change,” concludes Dr Clark.
I read this as being a reversal, albeit a temporary one possibly, and patients and their GP’s now have the choice; I’d assume the application process will be swift and nothing more than a formality. The unspoken issue is that, as always, effective healthcare depends on effective communication between patient and GP. It may not always be crystal clear where the onus is and who takes responsibility for what. A good relationship with your doctor is important.
A press release is not a substitute for information to doctors and patients. As I said, the onus is on them to find out relevant information, if they don’t already have it, and do what they think is best for them. Medical decisions, such as prescriptions and patient care are not the responsibility of PHARMAC.
In a statement, Pharmac's medical director Dr Ken Clark said "we understand the news of the three deaths of patients taking Lamotrigine will concern people. We don't know if this is linked to the brand change – and we don't want people to stop taking their medication out of fear so we're making it easier for people to stay on their current brand if their doctor believes it is the right thing for them."
Nevertheless, the Medsafe advice to Pharmac against forcing a switch to Logem makes sobering reading. Not because an increased risk of death, which hasn't been demonstrated, but because of the extreme adverse effects on the quality of life that would be suffered by those whose epilepsy went from well-controlled to not well-controlled because of the switch.
People who are experts on medical statistics have a field day with the bizarre health claims in most media . It works both ways on 'deaths from' and 'saved by'.
This big fiddle with the numbers has been revealed in 'Sports Science' which is a small part of the Cult of Statistical Significance
eg ‘How many molecules do you suppose you share with William Shakespeare? We mean molecules in your body that were once in his? Surprisingly, the correct answer, in view of the immense number of molecules in a human body and the operation of decay and Brownian motion, is “quite a few.”. but its meaningless of course , even if you live in England like he did.
Yeah. That's why I find the "quality of life" argument put forward by Medsafe to be compelling, while my initial reaction to the reports of deaths is I don't yet see a reason to believe those are anything more than the normal background rate of incidences of SUDEP.
In the case of lamotrigine, it seems that most of those that need it would successfully switch. I'll speculate that due to the complexity and variability of humans and what ails us, there may even be some who would do better from switching.
But now with the enormous adverse publicity that has come about, significant nocebo effects are probably in play by now.
I think that there’s enough information to raise suspicion and act upon it based on the precautionary principle, which is exactly what happened. From what I’ve read, it does look like PHARMAC made a few debatable judgement calls.
‘Some experts state that the nocebo effect may have a larger effect on clinical outcomes than the placebo effect as negative perceptions are formed much faster than positive ones.’
Grateful thanks to you, Kay for the frequent postings and warnings about the change-over to generics. Sympathy to all those who have now suffered because Pharmac did not listen or seemingly care. Any life lost is a tragedy. Hoping you are all back on your previous medication now.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Ian Powell says annual DHB budget planning processes have become farcical.
“DHBs are being pressured to find mythical savings that are then not realised. It is a wasteful and futile exercise in wishful thinking, he says.
“Proper budget planning to meet the predicted actual operational costs of providing quality and accessible patient care would avoid the necessity for equity injections and would enable DHBs to engage in long-term planning, rather than chasing short-term savings that risk the standard of and access to patient care.”
Mr Powell says Health Minister David Clark must show leadership and encourage the Ministry of Health to face reality. “He must ensure that health funding in next year’s Budget meets the estimated operational costs of district health boards providing quality care to their patients.
“At present Dr Clark is busy trying to have it both ways. He blames the previous National government for underfunding, but at the same time implies that DHBs should be able to make ends meet.
Compared with the Nats health budget tricks, where 'new money' was only given to DHBs to pay off debt, and even when the debt was transferred to the Crown accounts , the DHBs still had to pay interest on the debt transferred !
But the headlines for Steven 'Hole in his pocket' Joyce before the election said "$900 mill more for DHBs. Actual money may vary ."
Anyway the whole DHB budget thing is an exercise in Theology, as they have to fund depreciation and the Crown asset charge from operational expenditure. They can never keep up, as they replace old buildings just opening the doors on new pushes their deficit through the roof.
Seems as though Treasury dont tell publically what it is .
In reality, the cost of government debt is say less than 2%
The capital charge along with its handmaiden for erosion of public service – the 2% annual spending efficiency savings often met by just dropping regulatory or other tasks
AOC's onto it. The dayglo swampzilla isn't happy with just a piddling one article of impeachment, he wants the bestest and bigliest impeachment of them all.
'Get me Roger Stone' is a morbidly fascinating look at this political operator and his shenanagins.
Going right back to before Nixon was president, Stone has been manipulating, including using a younger Trump to split candidate selection to ensure the horse he was backing got picked.
'Get me Roger Stone' is a morbidly fascinating look at this political operator and his shenanagins.
Watched it again last night to remind me of the history behind Stone, Manafort, Trump etc, to put into context the events of the last year or so (and this morning's verdict). Talk about what goes round comes round. I still think Trump may survive impeachment, and win 2020, but my hope that I'm wrong is increasing. The whole body politic over there is awash with corporate money and corruption, and transformational change is required. Go Bernie.
Why do all the pictures you take underwater look blandly blue-green? The answer has to do with how light travels through water. Derya Akkaynak, an oceangoing engineer, has figured out a way to recover the colorful brilliance of the deep.
Love it – that will tear the imposter up big time – very nice move – he will react very poorly I think and overstep the mark – hopefully bigtime cos the scarlet pimplesmell has to go
Another multistorey fire in the UK, this time a student dorm. Apparently everyone got out. Suggestions that building cladding might be an issue again.
If the cladding really is an issue after Grenfell, that's outrageous.
Additionally, the uni is relocating students and providing support, but pulling the line that the block isn't owned or operated by them. Gotta love that "plausible capitalist deniability".
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
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Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
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The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
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The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
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A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Never mind used car salesmen..Those stalwarts of moral virtue have got a deal 4 u!
ANZ has upped the ante, launching an advertised cash back offer with its home loans. The country's biggest bank is offering a $3,000 cash contribution for certain home loans taken out. The cash contribution is only available on new home loans fully approved by December 2. They must be 'new' and for $200,000+ with new residential security provided.'
What next minimum trade ins…up to $5000 minimum towards your deposit when you trade in your old banger on a shiny new 30 year mortgage.
Hardly news . Similar cash backs of various amounts have been around for mortgages for ages.
Well nothing is 'news' to you DOE…..that's for sure.
Im pretty sure Kiwi Bank are also offering $3k
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/117416630/punching-up-with-ok-boomer-and-pale-male-stale-may-get-a-laugh-but-theyre-just-air-swings
This maori falla reakons "pale ,stale ,male" is sexist ,ageist and racist!!
lol – pale is racist? stale is ageist? and male is sexist? ffs what a stupid line of reasoning imo – strange you've taken the bait so easily there waggy.
oh and use fulla not falla is my advice for street cred
Funny that you so quickly jumped in to defend name calling towards us honkies.
I thought progressives are the better people who rise above name calling.
As for street cred, I have always been so uncool that I'm almost hip. 😎
well ok then how is pale racist? In your own words if you can would be good mate.
Pale on it's own is just a word . Context is everything.
You look a bit pale.
You pale old cunt.
Why would you use that sentence? Seems to me you are so insecure that you are trying to be a try hard – how about growing up and using the tiny brain you have to debate the point or are you too dim for even that eh boy
btw you sicko – no one would insult a ‘white’ person by saying that to them – shows a lot about you and your deep issues imo
Humm so you've made it personal and I'm the one with the problem??
You are just a sad little bully
Perhaps if you actually attempted to explain how pale is racist marty would have something substantive to reply to.
Isn't pale stale male the same as old white old man?
Jenkin’s law.
https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/12/white-men-dehumanising-insult-times/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/15/pale-stale-males-blamed-brexit-trump
I've put what i understand it to mean at 2.4 below.
But i wouldn't have thought "old white man" was racist either.
please put "edit" before your links, they weren't there when i replied.
I didn't call it racist, either, and whatever the flavour, the chips on some people's shoulders are always their own head balancers to me, but the articles are quite clear their is a perception pale stale male is used as an insult.
Nope. For certainty, best wait ten minutes before replying. I’ll add an edit only if someone replies before I’ve finished and it changes their comeback. Ta.
I suggested that bwag "explain how pale is racist" and then you jump in so reasonable to assume you thought so.
For certainty, best wait ten minutes before replying.
Oh yes what a good idea we should all do that
As it happens, my post at 10.47, with a 10 minute edit window, means your post at 11.01 was made 14 minutes later. Just saying.
I must have gotten distracted after hitting reply. That is not really the point. The point is that people should have a right to know if something has changed since the first time they read it, and that replies may have been drafted based on the original.
It's not my problem how you post comments on The Standard, though as I've written above, if my edit changes the meaning or understanding of another comment made before I've finished, I will tag it as edited.
In this case, in adding two links reporting how pale stale male is recognised as an insult, in context with the thread, no disclaimer was needed. It doesn't or wouldn't have changed your reply, quite clearly, as you haven't mentioned them once since.
On other sites I use, posts are freely editable until someone posts after, at which time they’re tagged and time stamped as edited. Maybe you should petition lprent for something similar.
It is the same as calling someone darkie, it is a racist slur.
blub blub no one forced you to write what you wrote – take responsibility and debate the topic like you said you wanted to
how is pale racist?
depends on context
example given that isn't an example
try again?
Marty and bwaghorn, please stop with the ad homs and personal attacks There's plenty of politics here without getting personal.
You are the most toxic piece of shit who is obviously over compensating for something.
Pale becomes racist once you use it as part of a put down .
Age becomes ageist once it's used as a put down
[24 hour time out for continuing abuse when asked to stop. This is flame war stuff and I don’t want to spend my weekend putting out fires – weka]
yeah it's called brains.
Pale can be racist when used as a put-down.
Stale can be ageist when used as a put-down.
Male can be sexist when used as a put-down.
But isn't it relatively mild stuff – like water off a Don's back.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/314556/don-brash-a-tragicomedy-in-five-parts
If I don't particularly warm to the phrase, that might be because I'm a pale male – and we're all of us getting 'stale'
https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/m/male_pale_stale.asp
https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1044247-old-man-yells-at-cloud
Marty and bwaghorn, please stop with the ad homs and personal attacks There's plenty of politics here without getting personal.
"They're PASSIONATE about what they do"
(which kind of leaves me worrying about what sort of relationships they have – since I'm just such a caring, sharing kinda guy)
Apologies in advance
The bald truth, eh!
Hirsuitist as!
Yes, at its best it's 'othering'.
Akin to the climate around here when controversial moral subjects come up e.g. pot, euthanasia, abortion.
Lump someone with a view at odds with one's own, into a group – anti vaxxers, Trumpians (Trumpets?). Sorted, you can now imply all sorts of undesirable attributes to them and their arguement.
othering? lol – you don't know what that means I think – think about the power dynamics that will help sort it for you imo
I think we're approaching a time when we need to take more care. I don't agree with the reverse racism/sexism part of the article, but I generally agree with his summation, which is what I think he was trying to get at.
And of course, the Boomer pejorative fails on class (as well as ageism), because that whole rhetoric makes invisible the elderly poor. Much like Generation Rent which seemed geared towards making gains that previous generations had without acknowledging that poor people have always rented. Didn't hear much about that, or what happens to people who currently retire with no savings and massive rent.
Liberals in particular need to be rethinking this. At the moment we are acting like we're naturally going to win the progressive vs regressive war (because we're righteous, right?), and seem to think we're justified in treating people like shit who aren't on board with whatever issue from a liberal pov. Rising fascism suggests this is a dangerous strategy.
The number of left wing people radicalising away from liberals in the past few years is scary. We can't force people to be liberal and we can't insult them into it either.
I think much of this is a function of social media, and we haven't evolved healthy social norms for dealing with things like the fast pace of change enabled by that, or how to limit the damage from pile ons.
Not suggesting we stop holding wealthy people to account, nor white people for racism and so on. But I do think being more nuanced in our analyses would help, and we desperately need to move to a politics of compassion, calling in, and building relationships across difference.
"and seem to think we're justified in treating people like shit who aren't on board with whatever issue from a liberal pov"
Not sure what you mean by this.
If we don't hold the line then what's the point. If I let someone be racist then why bother trying to stop others.
don't let someone be racist, but address the racism rather than putting the person down? Not saying that is absolute for every situation, but am pointing to the problem we have at the moment of polarisation and how the left tends to think we can force people to change into something we consider better. It's brutal at times and that brutality will not serve society well.
You know about the calling in thing right?
No I'm not sure I do know what that means – I think I do but…
thinking about it, I haven't heard it talked about in a while. It was a concept that arose a few years ago when people started to realise how much damage was being done on social media with pile ons. People were being righteous and calling out racism, sexism, all the isms, but because of the nature of social media the person being called out often ended up humiliated or worse.
So people started talking about the importance of calling people in. Address the racism, sexism etc, in a way that calls people in, helps them belong, enables them to feel like positive change is possible and that they're still valuable as a human being.
From memory, this shift from call out culture to calling in culture arose out of black culture in the US. Or at least that's where I was seeing it come from predominantly, although I saw it spread into other communities as people realised the importance of human connection. I'll see if I can dig up some links.
At it's heart, othering is the reinforcement of the idea that 'they' are not like 'me', therefore 'I' can lack empathy or care for 'them'.
Be it red heads, spectacle wearers, tories, folk who lisp, LGBTQQIA etc.
I am heartened that my son's generation (he is nearly 18) are a lot more inclusive than I was at his age.
yeah nah – it's all about who has the power – it is a power trip from the powerful on the less powerful to keep them less powerful and thus retain the power with the powerful.
Well i guess people could say instead "you are a member of the dominant social group and hold the dominant viewpoint of people of that group and this viewpoint has been dominant for a very long time and you should open your mind to the viewpoint and participation of others" but that does sound rather long winded.
Pale surely is a complexionist term and can be dwedfilly hurtful.
For a male, being called, "male" can be completely exposing and once said, can't be unsaid. To avoid being revealed in this way, "one" should dress and act suitably.
Ha! Yes, exactly.
Interesting series of articles
Articles like these are my bread and butter, marty mars. I wonder if you've read this little extract from somewhere (sorry weka, can't find the link
"I think so many of us have agreements. What I’d like to remind folks is that there was a time on Earth when agriculture didn’t exist. There was the wild plants and animals. People have always been in relationship to them, and I think agriculture as a current concept looks very different in lots of ways. We humans have been shaping the landscape since time immemorial, and we have been in collaboration with all manner of different wild plants and animals for a long, long time. But there was a time in history—some people say it was around 10,000 years ago, although you never know—that there were wild plants. I feel like it was an invitation from the wild, and this is how it’s been told to me. There were wild plants who could see the potential of being in a different sort of relationship with humans, and they invited us into this co-creative dance that we call agriculture.
The plants gave up a little of their wildness, and we humans gave up a little of our wildness too, and we came into this covenant, this sacred covenant or this marriage. In some cultures, it’s spoken of as a marriage. We came into this relationship, and part of those agreements were to take care of one another. We were going to be bound in this reciprocal relationship, to care intimately for one another as we move forward. So that is the foundation of those agreements—that understanding of reciprocity, understanding that when you do well, I do well, and that it is a courtship. There’s an aspect of wanting to ensure that they’re well taken care of, not just because it means nourishment and food for us, but because there’s a deeper sense of love and relationality in that connection."
https://emergencemagazine.org/story/reseeding-the-food-system/
I'm causing so much trouble!
"water off a Don's back" was classic!
"sorry weka, can't find the link"
If you copy and paste a small section of your quote (one sentence will usually do it), and put it in google with " " around each end, it will bring up the link that your quote is from.
There is an expectation here that the person quoting will do that mahi, so that others don't have to. Esp important for people reading on phones because it's much harder to do that kind of search.
That you don't do this puts me in a awkward position, because if you were someone else I'd be moderating by now. I'd appreciate it if you trust the moderators on this, that it's important to cite (with a link where possible) even if it doesn't seem so to you. cheers.
Yes, good point, weka, that’s what I did and by doing so, I was doing Robert a favour and making it easier on the moderators 😉
Thanks Incognito. Part of my annoyance at the moment (not with RG specifically, but with how much this is an issue on TS now) is the time I just spent writing that comment could have been spent reading Robert's quote 😉
Gee thanks Weka. I learned from you how to find the source of quotes. Very handy!
You're welcome!
More trouble at the OPCW
Undue political interference on the final Douma report
Seems like the chlorine samples found were minimal and no different to environmental samples collected from outside the impact area
I have a feeling this isn't going to go away.
Written by Jonathan Steele, long time writer for the Guardian , and Middle East eye
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/11/15/the-opcw-and-douma-chemical-weapons-watchdog-accused-of-evidence-tampering-by-its-own-inspectors/
This is fairly serious
"Within days of rebel-supplied videos of dead children and adults in the aftermath of the alleged attack in Douma Francois DeLattre, France’s representative at the UN Security Council, said the videos and photos showed victims with “symptoms of a potent nerve agent combined with chlorine gas”.
The Douma fact-finding team quickly discovered this was wrong. Blood and other biological samples taken from alleged victims examined in Turkey (where some had fled after government forces regained control of Douma in mid-April) showed no evidence of nerve agents. Nor was there any in the surrounding buildings or vegetation in Douma. As the Interim Report, published on July 6 2018, put it: “No organophosphorus nerve agents or their degradation products were detected, either in the environmental samples or in plasma samples from the alleged casualties”."
"On July 4 there was another intervention. Fairweather, the chef de cabinet, invited several members of the drafting team to his office. There they found three US officials who were cursorily introduced without making clear which US agencies they represented. The Americans told them emphatically that the Syrian regime had conducted a gas attack, and that the two cylinders found on the roof and upper floor of the building contained 170 kilograms of chlorine. The inspectors left Fairweather’s office, feeling that the invitation to the Americans to address them was unacceptable pressure and a violation of the OPCW’s declared principles of independence and impartiality."
"An open letter to every delegate at the forthcoming OPCW conference calling for the inspectors to be heard has been signed by
Jose Bustani, first Director General of the OPCW
Hans von Sponeck, former UN Humanitarian Coordinator (Iraq)
George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Scott Ritter, UNSCOM Weapons Inspector 1991-1998.
Noam Chomsky, Emeritus Professor, MIT.
John Pilger, Journalist and documentary film maker
Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
Oliver Stone, Film Director, Producer and Writer."
The thing is that anyone with an unbiased view will see that the report that the OPCW did release was full of inconsistencies and omissions.
Very disturbing the appearance of the American officials ,in no uncertain terms dictating the "facts" to those OPCW staff about to write the final report on Douma
Substitute "Russian officials" or "Syrian officials" and stand back for no end of squawking
Just as disturbing UK prosecutors taking instruction from American representatives in the latest Assange court appearance
"What happened next was very instructive. There were five representatives of the US government present (initially three, and two more arrived in the course of the hearing), seated at desks behind the lawyers in court. The prosecution lawyers immediately went into huddle with the US representatives, then went outside the courtroom with them, to decide how to respond on the dates"
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2019/10/assange-in-court/
I notice the mysterious death of the white helmet founder did not disturb you – doesn't fit your narrative I guess.
Russia's intelligence forces are off the leash, and you're cheering them on.
What is the connection between Le Mesurier and the dodgy practices of the OPCW ?
Or do you know something we don't?
Do tell.
Actually I doubt you know anything much of consequence which is why you need to try to deflect from the topic.
I'd say though, that your worship of Le Mesurier is not shared by many Syrians.
Or Kosovoians.
I don't worship him – but if you were progressive instead of being the menkurt servants of a murderous kleptiarch you'd have supported the white helmets, and their efforts to help Syrian people.
The common thread between the "dodgy practices of the OPCW " and your demonization of the white helmets of course is that both are part of Moscow created narrative you repeat as thoughtlessly as the sheep in Animal Farm.
Of all the reports and articles provided by on this site it seems you've read none. Of all the Youtube videos the White Helmets have published showing their thuggery and pathetic false flag acting it seems you've chosen to view none.
I guess you dare not for fear of having your ignorance tested, as all you seem to be able to say is "Russia did it. Assad gassed his own people. I don't like Craig Murray."
You're a fool Stuart. That's not an insult just a mere observation.
I wont respond to your comments again. You've nothing to say worth reading let alone replying to.
You're just a parrot Brigid. People who want your perspective need only read RT – it's not as if you analyze anything – which means your opinion is less than worthless, it is in fact a kind of pollution.
The less you intrude your ignorance into grown-up discussion the better.
A very apt connection Stuart After all it was the White Helmets who claimed Douma residents had been killed by nerve agent at the hands of the Syrian govt. The harrowing and widely distributed video was found to be quite misleading. The OPCW found no nerve agent in environmental samples or "victims" who'd made their way to Turkey .The bodies were nowhere to be found
The narrative then changed to weaponised chlorine.This too is disputed by the very team who collected samples in Douma
It also happens to be the only OPCW investigation actually on site with the required chain of custody rules observed
Oh dear , it seems the White Helmets were lying
It's amazing what can seem to be made to seem like lies, if one humours the disinformatsia of professional propagandists.
So now the OPCW team at Douma are liars
hokay
I think I've lost count of the times the Russians have accused the OPCW of lying.
Just as they accused everyone else of lying about MH17, while they produced an endless series of bullshit explanations not realizing how comprehensively contemporary technology had documented their actions.
The Russians are incapable of telling the truth – it has no value to them. And having earned that reputation, they only win mudslinging wars among the credulous 🙂 .
Yep . And the Ukrainians lied when they shot down the Russian airliner over the Black Sea
And US lied when the US Navy shot down a Iranian civil airliner on its scheduled route…some bull%$#@ about diving on to them
Airliner shootdown are more common than you would think….of course you are fully aware of ALL these …not
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airliner_shootdown_incidents#1990s
I think it goes a little deeper in fact – to Marxist theory or possibly even to Tzarist times. Back when I was MAF observing, Russian vessels typically kept three or four different sets of books – even asked me on occasion what they should write in the quota record books. The idea that they might record what actually occurred was alien to them.
I am of course aware that international discourse includes a great many lies, but there is a fundamental unconcern for truth in some cases – clarified here if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lArA7nMIqSI
Bit harsh – it's more of a conceptual difference that brings military deception into the strategic and diplomatic level.
When runned by competent leaders, the West tend to tell planned fibs if they want to keep something secret. "Don't believe that, believe this" sort of thing. And then most of the time the actual story leaks out decades later.
The Russians prefer to have multiple arms-length sources make up their own shit about any notable event, so decision-makers get lost in fog. This has the advantage of not just delaying the decision makers, but randoms around the world can pick the theory they like best and adamantly preach it.
No go with your 'conceptual thinking' …they are all bare faced liars …full stop. Only a small portion 'gets out'
in the middle east its the same whether it was Saddam , Erdogan, Assad or Netanyahu.
Have you seen the recent bare faced lies by NZDF …and they couldnt shoot down a low flying balloon…..and the con job they do do on the taxpayer here about 'highly trained but not well equipped'
I relate the habit of untruth in part to the severity of Soviet and quite probably preSoviet oppression. Telling the truth under Stalin was an almost suicidal level of romantic excess. But western countries have traditionally extended some kind of protection, however imperfect, to truth tellers and whistleblowers, so that the notion is, whatever else it might be, not absurd.
NZDF changed their story multiple times, but said only one story at a time.
If they'd followed maskirovka, they'd have said fuckall while various publications were slipped conflicting and massively unlikely alternative explanations to "hit and run".
Things were obviously pretty stressful for us yesterday so I've just caught up with OM. Disappointing, but not at all surprising to see that some people don't consider 'only' 4 possible related deaths aren't enough to satisfy them. And variations on the theme of 'oh well x number of epileptics die every year anyway'. Talking points that are currently being seen in several commenting sections on social media/message boards, and that have originated with Pharmac. So either you're just not creative enough to come up with your own arguments, or you're on the payroll of certain government agencies who are desperately trying to deflect. At least try to be original, ok??
If people STILL sincerely believe Pharmac are in the right over this one, despite ALL the evidence against them, then all I can do is feel very, very sorry for you, suggest you get yourself some intensive counselling for your denial problems and hope that you are never at their mercy.
I'm not going to engage anymore on this for the time being, the stress has made me really ill, and watching Guyon's interview with "Dr" Ken Clark yesterday left me wanting to physically harm the man and I'm not a violent person. Debriefing with my colleagues later, I was not alone!
But a brief summay/conclusion/points to dwell on.
*Medsafe said it's dangerous, don't do it.
*International best practice guidelines said it's dangerous to switch brands, don't do it.
*Pharmac did it
*It's subsequently proven to be dangerous to some people, including possible deaths,
*There are OIA documents showing Pharmac knew there were likely to be problems
*This is all about money, not best clinical practice, not what's best for NZers, as Dr Clark says.
*There is NOT an issue with generics. There is just some categories of drugs where it's not safe to switch brands. Like heavy duty brain drugs. Pharmac will try this again, this is not the first time people have been harmed by this practice
*Pharmac keep crying '"capped budget." We have to ask why does it have to be capped with no real increases for years?
*We should be concerned that senior public servants blatantly lie and deliberately mislead the media, the public, their Ministers and the Health Select Committee, even while being showing the documents that state evidence to the contrary. Is there no code of ethics? Where does employment law come into this? HOW can this keep happening and they don't lose their jobs?
Thanks Kay, appreciate your work on this. I hadn't been following so it was an eye opener yesterday to read one of the comments and a link that showed how many people with epilepsy die (I had no idea) i.e we already know that people are at risk, and how unbelievably stupid Pharmac have been over this given what was known ahead of time.
I was pretty surprised to see the unusually insensitive only 4 deaths comment too.
Take care, hope you get some restorative time.
Appreciate what Kay has said , but 60 people die in NZ every year from Epilepsy related 'causes' ( SUDEP).
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/e/epilepsy/
Others say Sudep is only 18% of all epilepsy related deaths, as just having epilepsy is considerable burden on your system
https://www.otago.ac.nz/bhrc/news/otago629839.html
Those families that have had this happen doesnt help them if there has been a change of meds to something that is chemically the same, but its ‘not considered to be the same’
My emphasis.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/399908/seizures-driving-stand-downs-as-pharmac-pulls-epilepsy-drug-funding
Thanks for that , I understand its not clear cut if they are identical even if the chemical formula is the same.
I just thought the people scare mongering over 'getting the Police people are dying' side needed to know epilepsy can always cause your death in a number of ways.
In one radio interview a woman said she was carefully making the transition but being easily scared had become very fearful listening the doom laden rhetoric. Maybe we should wait and see if the fault can be identified.
My son's friend died at 27years from a nightime epilepsy event some 5 years ago. Tragic but part of the awful risk from epilepsy but nothing to do with the current changes.
This question has been addressed and was buried in a link in a discussion thread in Open mike 13/11/2019:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26201987
However, there are still some lingering (and legal) doubts about the current regulatory requirements:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31626574
Please note the years of publication; the first link was cited in the second one.
I didn't say "only" 4.
I asked if the rate was any different from what it would have been without any change in label.
It might be "insensitive", but it's a necessary question when it comes to judging health funding decisions.
could have been framed a bit differently I think.
Following up with the bit about necessary health rationing also came across a bit like 'some people have to die'. Which is brutally true but again framing matters.
The thing I'm with most right now is the number of people with a very stressful and scary condition who must be additionally stressed by not knowing what is going on. Just on that level alone questions should be being asked about how this whole thing has been handled.
And that fear will in no small part be encouraged by the headlines about deaths that imply causation without evidence.
I do try to consider criticism of my comments fairly, but I prefer to be criticised on what I actually wrote.
Fair enough. I think I read it reasonably right at the time and it seemed out of character for you. Not the wanting to apply rationality, but the insensitivity.
"And that fear will in no small part be encouraged by the headlines about deaths that imply causation without evidence"
I was under the impression that critiques in the 12 months before the change that it was clear that there would be negative effects from the change (albeit Pharmac presumably wasn't expecting deaths). Even without MSM current focus on deaths, this was a widely discussed issue for those that were paying attention (i.e. people with epilepsy) and the deaths would have been known about on social media anyway (but with less scrutiny perhaps). I'm sure there's always room for improvement in MSM coverage.
Do you know why they didn't leave existing patients on the old medicine and have new patients on the generic? I gather part of the issue is that where people with epilepsy are stable on one med it's best practice to not mess with that.
They would have wanted as many people on the cheaper labels as possible. This would free up more funds to improve the quality and length of life for other patients.
From what I gather, Pharmac normally go through a pretty solid analysis that does account for quality of life as well as lives extended. So if that process wasn't followed, that would be a bad decision. Alternatively, if they did the transfer and it had worse repercussions than calculated, the question arises as to why the predictions were off.
If that system is broken, fair call. There will be investigations, maybe resignations and hearings, and compensation claims. Otherwise, basically people are lobbying to get more than their fair allocation of health funds.
And there's a conflict between my (admittedly thin) impulse to listen to the fears of people who are about as safe yesterday as they are today, and my impulse to ask how much money we will spend to allay those fears when other people have more demonstrable drug needs.
so you think there is no increased risk for a % of that group? What are you basing that on?
I'm saying that the declared number seems to be within the range of what one would expect without any label change (40-60 per year). A closer analysis of person/years might demonstrate that change from four cases (or at least make a reasonable basis for concerns it despite wide confidence intervals).
But at this stage there are a lot of discussions on a variety of platforms seemingly suggesting that the label change killed 4 people. Which is a load of bullshit given the available information (and pharmac/carm probably don't have too much more information than already released: specific dates and doses, but possibly not much more).
The number of deaths may be an anomaly but apparently 26 reports of adverse reactions to lamotrigine since brand switch began in May have been reported to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM).
See also https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/safety/Alerts/Lamotrigine.asp
Is that more or less than usual? And if it's more, is the increase in the acceptable bounds of the decision to switch funding in the first place?
We simply don't have the information available to assess the decision or the response.
It's like an engineer is told to "build a bridge 25 units long". Are those units metres, yards, or kilometres? All anyone can do is wait.
"imply causation without evidence."
There's reasonably evidence that the theory is right, yeah? (seizures are dangerous for a % of sufferers, changing meds can make seizures more likely).
How would they establish causation in specific cases?
Stuffed if I know at a clinical level. Which leaves the comparison between rates as an indicator.
Needs a Police investigation into Pharmac.
Four deaths, and very little accountability.
Even if no charges were laid afterwards, it sends the right signal.
Ya can't bloody do that @Ad!!!!!!!!!!
Not even Ministers or elected Councillors
Don't you know all senior public service officials are above reproach?
And that's even when/after the 'good and proper' processes have been exhausted and nothing has been done. It could be construed as bullying
(/sarc – just in case)
BTW ….. Here's a tribute to our senior public service officials:
Let us pray
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQA6tBYAvms
Stuck record et al
Here he is in person! Absolutely brilliant performance and parody of an American revivalist evangelical preacher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdaeQLCTa6g
Remember this from the radio in the 40s or 50s. Very clever even then.
Around 4 people or so die every month who have no obvious causes other than they have epilesy . Some dont even have a siezure and just die in their sleep.
Maybe 5x that number each month have early death due to the burden epilepsy puts on their personal health.
That seems to be unrelated to the brand name of their medications
I haven't engaged in the debate partly because I'm having trouble understanding that they continue in the face of overwhelming evidence, and even death.
YES – police need to be involved as this is criminal.
PHARMAC has reversed their decision so they are not continuing.
At this stage, nobody knows if and how the brand switch may have contributed to any of the four deaths. All we know, from the media reports, is that they had in common being epilepsy sufferers and had switched brands. The deaths have been referred to the coroner.
What “overwhelming evidence” are you referring to?
Has Pharmac reversed its decision? I thought they had just said that if people had concerns they could apply to go back to the old brand.
Hmmm, maybe it’s clearer when reading PHARMAC’s latest press release.
https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/news/pharmac-to-widen-access-to-the-exceptional-circumstances-process/
I read this as being a reversal, albeit a temporary one possibly, and patients and their GP’s now have the choice; I’d assume the application process will be swift and nothing more than a formality. The unspoken issue is that, as always, effective healthcare depends on effective communication between patient and GP. It may not always be crystal clear where the onus is and who takes responsibility for what. A good relationship with your doctor is important.
I guess to clear up any sort of ambiguity going forward, we should probably talk to their 'comms people'
A press release is not a substitute for information to doctors and patients. As I said, the onus is on them to find out relevant information, if they don’t already have it, and do what they think is best for them. Medical decisions, such as prescriptions and patient care are not the responsibility of PHARMAC.
Perhaps from this I put up yesterday
I don't see "overwhelming evidence" anywhere.
Whipping up a storm on the basis of 4 deaths over a period of several months, when " Epilepsy affects 48,000 New Zealanders. It's a serious condition – every year about 40 people in this country die from sudden unexplained death due to epilepsy. ", strikes me as decision-making based on loud emotional shouting, not rational examination of the evidence.
Nevertheless, the Medsafe advice to Pharmac against forcing a switch to Logem makes sobering reading. Not because an increased risk of death, which hasn't been demonstrated, but because of the extreme adverse effects on the quality of life that would be suffered by those whose epilepsy went from well-controlled to not well-controlled because of the switch.
People who are experts on medical statistics have a field day with the bizarre health claims in most media . It works both ways on 'deaths from' and 'saved by'.
This big fiddle with the numbers has been revealed in 'Sports Science' which is a small part of the Cult of Statistical Significance
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-shoddy-statistics-found-a-home-in-sports-research/
and more broadly , in this book, which covers economics as well.
"The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives"
eg ‘How many molecules do you suppose you share with William Shakespeare? We mean molecules in your body that were once in his? Surprisingly, the correct answer, in view of the immense number of molecules in a human body and the operation of decay and Brownian motion, is “quite a few.”. but its meaningless of course , even if you live in England like he did.
Yeah. That's why I find the "quality of life" argument put forward by Medsafe to be compelling, while my initial reaction to the reports of deaths is I don't yet see a reason to believe those are anything more than the normal background rate of incidences of SUDEP.
In the case of lamotrigine, it seems that most of those that need it would successfully switch. I'll speculate that due to the complexity and variability of humans and what ails us, there may even be some who would do better from switching.
But now with the enormous adverse publicity that has come about, significant nocebo effects are probably in play by now.
I think that there’s enough information to raise suspicion and act upon it based on the precautionary principle, which is exactly what happened. From what I’ve read, it does look like PHARMAC made a few debatable judgement calls.
Or its the Nocebo effect , as mentioned by Andre
‘Some experts state that the nocebo effect may have a larger effect on clinical outcomes than the placebo effect as negative perceptions are formed much faster than positive ones.’
The nocebo effect can be influenced by ‘media storms’. Widespread dissemination of concerns about an adverse reaction to a medicine leads to an increase in the number of reports of the adverse reaction.
https://medsafe.govt.nz/profs/PUArticles/March2019/The%20nocebo%20effect.htm
Id hate to think we are seeing a Media Storm whipped up by the Hidden Hand of the Big Pharma whos product is replaced by a generic
Grateful thanks to you, Kay for the frequent postings and warnings about the change-over to generics. Sympathy to all those who have now suffered because Pharmac did not listen or seemingly care. Any life lost is a tragedy. Hoping you are all back on your previous medication now.
https://www.asms.org.nz/news/asms-news/2019/11/12/dhb-bailouts-symptomatic-of-underfunding/
Once again, Ian Powell is on the money. We now look to Dr Clark and the Government to put it right.
Compared with the Nats health budget tricks, where 'new money' was only given to DHBs to pay off debt, and even when the debt was transferred to the Crown accounts , the DHBs still had to pay interest on the debt transferred !
But the headlines for Steven 'Hole in his pocket' Joyce before the election said "$900 mill more for DHBs.
Actual money may vary ."Anyway the whole DHB budget thing is an exercise in Theology, as they have to fund depreciation and the Crown asset charge from operational expenditure. They can never keep up, as they replace old buildings just opening the doors on new pushes their deficit through the roof.
Do you know off the top of your head how high the Crown Asset charge is? I thought it was 7% but that seems too high.
Seems you are right
https://croakingcassandra.com/2019/03/11/in-defence-of-capital-charges-and-higher-public-sector-discount-rates/
Seems as though Treasury dont tell publically what it is .
In reality, the cost of government debt is say less than 2%
The capital charge along with its handmaiden for erosion of public service – the 2% annual spending efficiency savings often met by just dropping regulatory or other tasks
Dodgy roger stone, caught out lying to congress, guilty on seven criminal counts.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/trump-ally-roger-stone-guilty-lying-congress-191115165033067.html
Meanwhile as the ex USA ambassador to the Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, testifies
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/trump-impeachment-inquiry-public-hearings-latest-updates-191113130549252.html
dirty donald trump who says he isn't going to watch the hearings, starts slamming her in real time on twitter by going on a retweeting frenzy.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump
AOC's onto it. The dayglo swampzilla isn't happy with just a piddling one article of impeachment, he wants the bestest and bigliest impeachment of them all.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/470678-ocasio-cortez-trump-himself-is-clearly-not-satisfied-with-only-one-article-of
'Get me Roger Stone' is a morbidly fascinating look at this political operator and his shenanagins.
Going right back to before Nixon was president, Stone has been manipulating, including using a younger Trump to split candidate selection to ensure the horse he was backing got picked.
Watched it again last night to remind me of the history behind Stone, Manafort, Trump etc, to put into context the events of the last year or so (and this morning's verdict). Talk about what goes round comes round. I still think Trump may survive impeachment, and win 2020, but my hope that I'm wrong is increasing. The whole body politic over there is awash with corporate money and corruption, and transformational change is required. Go Bernie.
Put your hand up if you believed Trump when he said he wasn't going to watch.
Was it about him?
There was more chance of him going to sign up for the military to seek a posting in a war zone than there was of him not watching.
One of the makers of Get me Roger Stone opines.
https://twitter.com/morganpehme/status/1195397216799731713
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1195397216799731713.html
Women being used in war is nothing new (except there is no war in this case)
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/chinese-government-assigning-han-men-to-live-and-sleep-with-uighur-women-whose-husbands-have-been-detained-report
there is war, it is simply a war without bombs dropping.
But there is a war, an extermination war. And yes, non of these women will speak up. Why on earth would they?
Take the water out and wow..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExOOElyZ2Hk&feature=youtu.be
Why do all the pictures you take underwater look blandly blue-green? The answer has to do with how light travels through water. Derya Akkaynak, an oceangoing engineer, has figured out a way to recover the colorful brilliance of the deep.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sea-thru-brings-clarity-to-underwater-photos1/
That's cool.
If anyone is interested, this is how aquatic creatures deal with seeing underwater – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982217302816
Now who says tRump isn't in love with Putti..
https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1195368417777242112
Anti-choice propagandists lose bigly.
https://twitter.com/AngryBlackLady/status/1195452275851812864
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/403437/wwf-warns-of-impact-of-new-caledonian-fires
Sad. How can the ground be kept green, with juicy non flammable undergrowth. Could bindweed come into its own??
Ha!
Imposter
A deliberate shift in language?
https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1195481643978498049
Love it – that will tear the imposter up big time – very nice move – he will react very poorly I think and overstep the mark – hopefully bigtime cos the scarlet pimplesmell has to go
Another multistorey fire in the UK, this time a student dorm. Apparently everyone got out. Suggestions that building cladding might be an issue again.
If the cladding really is an issue after Grenfell, that's outrageous.
Additionally, the uni is relocating students and providing support, but pulling the line that the block isn't owned or operated by them. Gotta love that "plausible capitalist deniability".