George Webb explaining the confusing mess behind the global Clinton web. It’s like Iran-Contra but instead of going North to South, it’s going East to West
Funding to reduce rheumatic fever in New Zealand has been halved in this week’s Budget.
That is despite the Government’s failure to reach a target of reducing hospitalisations for the serious illness, which is one of its top 10 priorities for the public sector.
The Budget shows funding for rheumatic fever has fallen from $10 million a year to $5 million a year.
“the polls have narrowed, with the latest from YouGov showing just a five point Conservative lead (less than the margin in 2015). It may be an outlier but it is not that much of an outlier; another poll on the same day showed an eight-point lead. If the YouGov poll were translated into seats, the Conservatives would have an overall majority of just two seats. And the poll was taken after the Manchester bombing, an event that people thought would boost Mrs May’s appeal.”
There is an interesting report from the London School of Economics that recently came out.
.
“The results of this study show that Jeremy Corbyn was represented unfairly by the British press through a process of vilification that went well beyond the normal limits of fair debate and disagreement in a democracy. Corbyn was often denied his own voice in the reporting on him and sources that were antiCorbyn tended to outweigh those that support him and his positions. He was also systematically treated with scorn and ridicule in both the broadsheet and tabloid press in a way that no other political leader is or has been. Even more problematic, the British press has repeatedly associated Corbyn with terrorism and positioned him as a friend of the enemies of the UK. The result has been a failure to give the newspaper reading public a fair opportunity to form their own judgements about the leader of the country’s main opposition.”
. http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/pdf/JeremyCorbyn/Cobyn-Report-FI…
.
Someone on radionz telling about himself in USA. He just said that some people don’t listen to facts or reason with any change of perceptions, because they NEED their beliefs to be right. His father said that it wasn’t enough to be right but to be able to present your thinking in a way that gets heard. He is a scientist interested in space. I thought his thoughts about dealing with science-twisters interesting.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. He’s a best-selling author, Emmy Award winner, recipient of 19 honorary doctorates, and a man who was once named “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive”.
Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The centre is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003.
From 1995 to 2005, Tyson wrote monthly essays in the ‘Universe’ column for Natural History magazine, some of which were published in his book Death by Black Hole (2007); a second book, Astrophysics For People in a Hurry, has just been released. He will be in New Zealand for the first time in early June to present his show, A Cosmic Perspective, at both Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena and the Spark Arena in Auckland.
Here is a principled man who reflects on himself and the world bravely and sometimes painfully. This will resonate with some of the people who comment here, who choose the path least trod.
10:20 Prof Michael Jackson – The wherewithal of life
Professor Michael D Jackson is a New-Zealand-born anthropologist and creative writer. He has published 30 books of poetry, fiction, ethnography and memoir, and is internationally known for his vast body of work. Most notably, he has helped define the field of ‘existential anthropology’ – looking at how groups of humans make meaning of their lives in the face of adversity.
In New Zealand, Jackson is best known for his poetry and creative non-fiction (Latitudes of Exile was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1976, and Wall won the New Zealand Book Award for Poetry in 1981). Since 1969 he has conducted extensive fieldwork among the Kuranko of Sierra Leone, the Warlpiri and Kuku-Yalanji of Australia, and African migrants in Europe. Jackson is currently Distinguished Professor of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School.
Data that is easily stored and retrievable is supposed to be one of the great pluses of the modern technological era that we live in, bringing knowledge and facts so that we can solve complex problems! And all that hyperbole.
Follow the link below for a interesting and, I think, largely on target, analysis of the US political situation by Paul Street. He considers the reasons behind the failure of the Democratic party and liberals (I know “liberal” is a label in dispute, but read the article to see what the author means by it) — their failure to get why so many working class Americans voted Trump and their consequent failure to re-think their own approach.
Does the Northland doctor who became enraged and invaded the stage at the Kaitaia screening of Vaxxed earnestly believe people will take his criticism seriously considering he hasn’t even viewed the film?
IMO, he exposed his bias, thus weaken his credibility, bringing into question those who supported his outburst.
He would have had far more credibility if he had actually viewed the film and directly addressed its assertions.
Poor Dr Lance O’Sullivan can’t lance a boil from school sores.
He is sore because he devotes his life trying to bring better health to poor people who have not the health education to understand how important it is to try and protect yourself against the might of the mites that are viruses etc.
And then the causality thing, the percentages thing is used to galvanise the populace against taking protective measures. One thing goes wrong, is done wrong and suddenly no thing must be done despite the foreseeable results of damaging sickness and community infection spread, which the so-called carers will then present to the doctor for hopeful healing.
We live with causality all the time, can’t people understand it. We don’t always wash our hands even, we allow our children and ourselves to suffer from tooth decay spreading germs throughout the body. The atmosphere is full of spores of fungus, dead skin has been said to swirl around us with bacteria riding on it like surfboarders.
There are problems lining up for us whether viruses or car ‘accidents’ from deliberate acts or actually real accidents, such as children being run over by cars in driveways, by enraged, maddened or drugged people, by those affected by traumatic breakdown of heart attacks. We don’t ban cars, we have to go to the lav, we can’t continue using germicide hand washes at home because the growth in their use affects the processes dealing with sewage to stop it putrefying etc., the inability to control meningitis, tuberculosis that is untreatable is looming, and we have wails mostly from women, that they can’t take the risk of vaccination.
It would be the stuff of fiction one would think, but no. (And I haven’t mentioned those who have taken bible readings to mean that they shouldn’t allow their children to have blood transfusions and instead watch them die rather than enable them so they can have a full life as an independent human.)
Dr Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) died through trying to help woman to have safer childbirth. He should be a woman’s hero known by all.
Despite various publications of results where hand washing reduced mortality to below 1%, Semmelweis’s observations conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community. Semmelweis could offer no acceptable scientific explanation for his findings, and some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands.
Semmelweis’s practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory and Joseph Lister, acting on the French microbiologist’s research, practiced and operated, using hygienic methods, with great success.
In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum, where he died at age 47 of pyaemia, after being beaten by the guards, only 14 days after he was committed.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis
Also Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior was forthright and was attacked by the medical profession because of his efforts to help prevent disease and death in the general public. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes_Sr.
In 1843, Holmes published “The Contagiousness of puerperal fever” in the short-lived publication New England Quarterly Journal of Medicine and Surgery. The essay argued—contrary to popular belief at the time, which predated germ theory of disease—that the cause of puerperal fever, a deadly infection contracted by women during or shortly after childbirth, stems from patient to patient contact via their physicians.[61] Holmes gathered a large collection of evidence for this theory, including stories of doctors who had become ill and died after performing autopsies on patients who had likewise been infected.[62] In concluding his case, he insisted that a physician in whose practice even one case of puerperal fever had occurred, had a moral obligation to purify his instruments, burn the clothing he had worn while assisting in the fatal delivery, and cease obstetric practice for a period of at least six months.[63]
A few years later, Ignaz Semmelweis would reach similar conclusions in Vienna, where his introduction of prophylaxis (handwashing in chlorine solution before assisting at delivery) would considerably lower the puerperal mortality rate.
Though it largely escaped notice when first published, Holmes eventually came under attack by two distinguished professors of obstetrics—Hugh L. Hodge and Charles D. Meigs—who adamantly denied his theory of contagion.[64] In 1855, Holmes chose to republish the essay in the form of a pamphlet under the new title Puerperal Fever as a Private Pestilence.
In a new introduction, in which Holmes directly addressed his opponents, he wrote: “I had rather rescue one mother from being poisoned by her attendant, than claim to have saved forty out of fifty patients to whom I had carried the disease.”[65] He added, “I beg to be heard in behalf of the women whose lives are at stake, until some stronger voice shall plead for them.”[66] The then controversial work is now considered a landmark in germ theory of disease.[28]
People who propose a blanket refusal to vaccinate are totally irresponsible.
There have been cases where the vaccination has been unsatisfactory, has had toxic elements, and when if the person receiving it is not in good health with good immune response, they can contract the disease, this perhaps when there has been a live though weakened sample given. So there is a necessity to ensure that the procedures be followed carefully. Saying no to all will get the response from caring medicos that they despair as they try and save suffering children who are presented by these mothers from utopia who won’t take responsibility for guarding their children against serious disease.
Organisers of the New Zealand screenings, WavesNZ, say: “If Dr. O’Sullivan had watched it he would know it’s not anti-vaccine, rather pro safe-vaccine.
piss off. That suggests that vaccines aren’t about the safest medical treatment there is – can you name a safer one? Vaccines make panadol or aspirin look like arsenic, and their benefits save millions – provided as many people as possible use them.
I also thought he lessened his credibility by arguing from his emotion and his authority and his ideology. Calling the people who organised the film to come here ‘vile’ said heaps. Interesting to see so many people support O’Sullivan from such emotive places instead of using logical arguments. The dishonesty about ideology is a problem.
I think the people who brought the film here did a massive disservice to the people who want to retain the choice to not vaccinate. Afaik there is no connection between MMR and autism. But there are other good reasons for some people to choose not using that vaccine. The anti-vaxxers are further polarising the whole thing by using false science and that’s going to lose in the end.
The pro-vaxxers are also polarising the situation, which shows them to be just as irrational. I want to bang their heads together (both groups).
And yes, it was interesting to see so many people support O’Sullivan from such emotive places instead of using logical arguments. Unfortunately, it tends to be an emotive topic.
no. I’m mildly curious so that I can critique it and have a better argument against the MMR causes autism thing, but I suspect I won’t bother, too many other more interesting things to look at 🙂
Dr Lance is there at the bottom of the cliff doing the best he can to clean up the mess left by those that did not vaccinate. Far North poor Maori represent a hot-spot. Dr Lance, New Zealander of the year, could do whatever medical job he wishes. He chooses to bring his skills to impoverished Far North Maori.
Day in, day out he is helping parents and treating children that didn’t need to have lifetimes of carrying the ailments that vaccination would of stopped dead. I suspect he has met a couple of people that have had unfortunate side-effects as a result of vaccination. He points to his 100’s of patient files.
He doesn’t need to see the movie. If it’s bringing any message to the Far North that isn’t ‘Give your baby the jab.’ Up here, it’s dangerous propaganda, it is his enemy, mine too. Most of us with the ability to make an educated choice can watch the movie anytime we wish online.
If you know that the basis of the movie is that very discredited debarred ex doctor who started the whole anti vaccination process based on thoroughly discredited data, you would have to be a fool to accept the basic premise. Some would argue that climate change is a myth but you shouldn’t say so unless you have looked at the films produced by the Deniers.
Go Dr O’Sullivan. A good man.
“If you know that the basis of the movie is that very discredited debarred ex doctor who started the whole anti vaccination process based on thoroughly discredited data, you would have to be a fool to accept the basic premise.”
From my understanding that is not the basis of the film.
“Thus one can’t claim it’s dangerous propaganda when one doesn’t actually know what the film has asserted.”
In this case, one can. The MMR vaccine/autism connection is based on really bad science. There comes a time when one doesn’t need to see that rehashed in order to have an opinion about it.
I haven’t seen Cowspiracy. But I know enough about the issues and I’ve read enough reviews of the film to know that it’s vegan propaganda.
Wakefield *did direct the film and it *is about the MMR/autism link. That video says it’s not about Wakefield, which is fine. I was talking about the whole issue. The film isn’t for instance about vaccines in general.
The big problem there is that even if there are issues with the CDC and new research, the fact that it’s Wakefield that has made the film means that there is zero chance of scientifically literate people taking it seriously. Seriously bad own goal, and it fucks me off because now it’s almost impossible to talk about real issues that exist with vaccines.
“one can’t claim it’s dangerous propaganda when one doesn’t actually know what the film has asserted.”
Ridiculous. Enough people and organisations who I trust have responded by now. I only need to be able to read.
The guy was struck off for breaching ethical standards, not for being a lovable misunderstood radical.
His position harms the public’s understanding about autistic people. I won’t tolerate that, and I do not need to sit through his little movie to come to that position any more than I need to read Atlas Shrugged to detest libertarians or Mein Kampf to grasp that Adolf wasn’t a nice chap.
Please read any of the many legit articles describing what the film is about – it’s Wakefield trying to defend his position that vaccines cause autism (which they do not). You’re wasting our time here. Surely you have something better to be defending?
My understanding is it’s about a CDC whistle-blower exposing a cover-up within the CDC, highlighting the conflict of interest the CDC has in their core role of promoting vaccines while also overseeing there safety.
I’ll judge it myself when I get round to viewing it.
I wasn’t defending it. I was highlighting the NZ Doctor’s outburst and how he failed to address the film directly, which IMO hurt his credibility on the matter.
It might be. Look at the Fat Hypothesis issue. It is possible for health authorities to get things very wrong, and that’s not always innocent mistakes but can be pinned on the culture and how the various processes work (or don’t work). I’m not arguing that the film is right, just the principle that there are no conflicts of interest in how public health gets developed.
For instance, I’d like to see a better reporting system for vaccine reactions (think we’ve had this conversation before), and IMO the reason we haven’t had that historically is because of the pro-vaccine bias didn’t want to look at the problems that closely (and probably some patronising stance about parents not knowing what they’re talking about).
There’s a difference between coming to a wrong conclusion and failing to declare and accommodate for a conflict of interest. One is being human, the other is Wakefield-level corruption.
A review is largely based on the opinion of the reviewer and can potentially be presented in an unbalanced manner. Therefore, it’s no substitute to the full publication. Especially when one publicly challenges the publication and wants to be taken seriously.
That one is getting borderline OAB. It’s been great having so many people commenting on the weekends again, can you please try and not make things unpleasant.
One Two’s pointless personal attack on Dr. O’Sullivan already made things unpleasant long before I arrived.
I made a movie that denies climate change. You have to watch it or you’re a symptom of wider societal issues. Pretty sure that’s a ‘pwned’ argument, eh.
The pointless personal attack was seemingly from O’Sullivan against the makers of the documentary, those who are showing it, and those who are watching it…
My comment was that if an MD make such irrational, emotive and one sided comments, that his credibility is zero..was not a personal attack…
Making comments (general statement) or taking a position on the documentary, when not having seen it..ridiculous…
His attacks on them have a point: that more children will die or be harmed as a result of their actions.
His credibility is bolstered by his being able to point to the facts of the matter, which support his position. That, and the fact of his personal and professional commitments, and the oath he took.
Which of us is the one having comprehension problems?
Cripes you critics!!
While you criticise someone for caring too much about something and shouting about a film that encourages doubt and denial which isn’t justified by science, though it appears to be scientific, it cuts into the credibility of a rare person trying to do well in a bad world.
Why such keenness to criticise good people in this post? Are there millions of people out there rising up to do the hard yakker of helping others and society and trying to set up systems that give vulnerable people better chances in life? Answer, no, numbers are far less than the uncaring, and struggling.
It’s so bloody middle class to be dissecting someone because they didn’t follow best practice or the regs in exactly the right way. They may have committed some offence against propriety or the law and they must be villified and exposed and cleansed before they are allowed to continue with their efforts to do good, a shamed figure with clay feet. The upper class, where the most money is, are less likely than the middle class to take any interest, so it tends to be the middle class that supplies the socially conscious and able to do the good works, but also the cutting critics and nitpickers.
Give it a rest – it’s like counting the angels dancing on the head of a pin. Better still get your own head so far down working to improve conditions in this rotten world that you don’t have time for this ridiculous and unseemly patter as you watch the passing parade from your superior positions.
Greywarshark, I respect and enjoy the thought you put into your comments here, but specifically around this, I am not in agreement with you (which is ok)
If O’Sillivan wished to make sincere and genuine difference, he would be encouraging open debate, not seeking to close it down pathways which are a necessary component, leading to wider more inclusive discussions..
It sounds like O’Sullivan was seeking to subvert the right of adults to take onboard information, which despite what yourself or others think, is critical to widening the thinking and awareness around vaccinations, and the gaping holes in the ‘science’
Such actions, in my opinion are not the actions/methods of a medical professional (or any rational human being) who seeks to deliver the most caring health service and advice possible. He made a big error of judgment, and in the process has exposed his true level and intent…not good enough, not not at all and he deserves all the criticism he gets (I’ve not criticized him, I’ve called out his actions and question them)
There is an abundance of medical and scientific literature, backed by wide sections of professionals across many specific fields, who are challenging the dogma of the ‘vaccine industry’, yet the pretence is that ‘evidence’ does not exist..
That is a lie of the most cynical nature, which fewer and fewer are believing..no you don’t need to be a ‘scientist’ or ‘doctor to identify the gaping holes in the ‘protocols’ or the curruption…most ‘doctors’ do not understand even fundamentals…
The challenge to orthodoxy includes detailing the degradation through revolving doors, conflict of interest ladened farce that are the FDA, Congress, and the worlds largest franchise of the ‘vaccine industry’, The CDC. All who hold patents, with profit generating vaccines in use, or in the pipeline
Researches and scientists are speaking out faster and in higher numbers which the establishment can’t keep the lid on, and people are now hearing the alarms, and taking control of their own well being and that of their family
In rapidly increasing numbers the awareness is spreading far and wide, that the toxins peddled by the chemical companies, have little of nothing to do with science or health. Nutrition and sanitation are the understood and clear leaders in overall general health improvements, the importance of clean food, water and air is clearly understood, and spreading rapidly
The poisons will not be going back in the needles, the current thinking is over, no matter how hysterical the largest lobby group on earth, with their advertising money dependent media outlets, paid for university departments, researches and controlled publishers yell, insult, abuse or call for the deaths of those who ‘speak out and speak up’…it’s over
The ‘irony’ is that ‘real science’ will be the end of the ‘vaccine industry’, as it is currently modeled…
The issues are much wider than the controlled narritive of vaccine/ASD…O’Sullivan needs to either talk about it honestly, or get out of the profession
5-10 years and that industry is over and done with
One Two
Thank you for your considered reply at 2 pm. Unfortunately I think you have become paranoid and I am sure that you have some good evidence of things that have gone wrong with vaccinations and people affected badly or even have died. But when it comes to mass treatment, which we need to build up barriers to the ‘germs’, there is a hopefully very small likelihood of someone’s system reacting even when everything is done well.
And when there are revelations that authorities and companies have been allowing second and third grade treatment it angers greatly.
This subject is clearly one which there is a gap between our levels of understanding. I don’t say that categorically, it is the sense I get. I would say the same to many others on this site..
It’s dismissive to use the word ‘paranoid’, not to mention disrespectful to the millions of families around the world whom have had direct and indirect experience with adverse reactions including death. If you had spent some time on this subject, you would likely be more considered in the word selection…many of them completely trusted the ‘industry’…
So vast are the numbers impacted, that the true paranoia exists, within the industry, which through its paranoia has managed to subvert co-opt and essentially monopolize law makers, regulatory bodies and indeed ‘vaccine science’..
If you had spent some time on this subject you would understand the deep conflicts inside the industry..these are mainstream understandings supported by studys from ivy league schools into the corruptive practices inside the industry which has subverted and co-opted regulatory bodies, turning them into corporate extensions..
This includes putting the legal liability onto an unsuspecting public, through ‘vaccine court’ under which the industry has no liability since 1986, and all costs are paid for by the taxpayers, and cases defended by the public servants..again funded by taxpayers…
Another mainstream aspect is the under-reporting of adverse reactions. Again this is a subject widely documented and easily ‘researched’ that at best it reporting is 1/10.
This alone makes the entire model in support of ‘safe & effective’ almost entirely useless, at best..it is 90% unknown what/who/where/why, at a minimum…
Still another mainstream issue, is the ‘industry’ lobby groups, which have ‘given’ more ‘donations’ to legislators between 1998-2012 than any other lobbying industry..by a wide margin
I don’t feel it’s nesessary to list the ‘settlements’ the industry has made over the decades of being outed peddling voodoo , which many believe in as ‘science’..
It’s nothing of the sort, and now even more millions, probably tens of millions around the world are growing in awareness about the industry practices, and what ‘health’ actually is for organic biological beings…
They can’t all be paranoid, and they can’t all be ‘wrong’
All the best, and please keep writing, because I’ll keep reading your comments
Not only are you having comprehension difficulty, but logic, reasoning as well….
Then there the logical fallicies you make…alongside snide personal remarks, simultaneously deflecting and smearing, and offering justification of the ‘attacks’…so it is supporting vilification and bullying, as well..
What a model ‘professional’…must be in the oath to ‘attack, vilify and bully’
Your comment history is ‘laudible’…O’Sullivan is just as defunct, given his performance!
No actual substantive argument then? Just a series of empty ad hominem assertions? I mustn’t hurt your feelings, so I’ll just refer you to the substance of my position, which you can find here.
[there’s no rule against hurting people’s feelings. There is a rule about getting away with rudeness so long as you make a political point. i.e. don’t do personal abuse alone (and don’t use politics to attack people personally). Can you please both stop the personal shit and argue the points. That applies to you too One Two. – weka]
O’Sullivan was seeking to subvert the right of adults to take onboard information
Two lies in that sentence.
1. Dr. O’Sullivan did not try to prevent people watching the calculated fraud. He advised them that doing so would result in children dying, because that’s the truth.
2. Calculated fraud is not “information”.
Mr. Andrew Wakefield tells lies for money. Helping him makes you an accessory to fraud.
The desperstion you exhibit in your comments on this site, going back many years is remarkable in its consistency
That you keep focusing on Wakefield serves only to illustrate just how limited in value your contributions on the subject, actually are..
Argue all you like, throw insults and projection as if the ranting tantrum thrower is anyone other than yourself…
The industry is bunk, it’s a fraudulent mesh of corporate corruption..peddled on the back of voodoo ‘science’ and neurotoxins injected directly into the blood stream of baby’s and pregnant women and youngsters..
Believe what you want.it’s over, regardless of what you or I have to say!
Funny how Wakefield’s movie invites mention of Wakefield. Almost as though they’re connected in some way 🙄
Have you contacted the police with your story about neurotoxins? Why not try a private prosecution? At least then when you get costs awarded against you, you’ll be able to say you’ve actually risked something personal, as opposed to merely endangering others.
Or is it more a case of, you’re convinced they’re poisoning children and you’re too gutless to act?
I’ve provided you with several coherent points of reference, from the foundations of Dr. O’Sullivan’s credibility, to the overwhelming messages from the medical community.
In response, you have advanced the idea that they are all corrupt or symptomatic of an undefined societal malaise, made vague and sinister allegations about neurotoxins, and declared victory, like George W Bush minus the aircraft carrier.
All smothered in snide bluster sauce.
What you’ve failed to do is advance a single substantive point of argument. And yes, I dine out on your rhetorical corpse. Boo hoo.
No, it’s not. Promotion of public health is the task. Assessing the safety of different interventions and promoting those that are safe and highly beneficial are not contradictory functions relating to that task, therefore no conflict exists.
If “big dead cat” paid the cdc to distribute massive quantities of dead cats and also paid the cdc to assess safety of dead cats, that would be a conflict. But that’s not the case.
The CDC see vaccines as one of our best defenses in promoting public health, therefore they promote their uptake. Thus, being critical of their safety risks discouraging their uptake, hence the potential conflict.
No, it’s not a conflict. Because if there were any safety risks of note, promoting vaccination would be inconsistent with promoting health.
That’s why people run a checklist for contraindications before vaccination (as with any drug intervention). The hazards of contraindicators mean that a particular vaccine (or anything) is not promoted in that case.
It would also be inconsistent with the promotion of one of their main defenses in promoting good health.
And while they do concede to some health concerns, thus don’t recommend certain people be vaccinated, or vaccination be delayed in certain cases, doesn’t mean there isn’t a potential conflict being weighed in their decision process.
One agency charged with overseeing both is likely to have unfortunate consequences.
If one test was manipulated, what’s to say there hasn’t been others?
I would suggest that the actual practise of discouraging vaccination in the case of evident contraindications means that your concern is more paranoid than rational.
Campbell and Nigel Latter are about to do this whole NZ in 2037 interactive telly thing. One of the questions is whether you would give up eating beef and eat ‘bugs’ instead for the sake of the environment.
It’s a nonsense question. I’ll eat local beef in small amounts ahead of imported, highly processed cricket flour. For environmental reasons.
I’d eat the ones from the dude in Dunedin though! Eat local, the less processed the better, so many ecological benefits.
‘Bugs’ bugs me. In NZ we have insects. Bugs are what you get when you have the flu or a cold.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[going by the fact that last time you raised this you ended up banned for flaming, posting offensively and refusing to back up claims. You also appeared incapable of adhering to the site’s Policy and ignored moderation. So you’re getting exactly one warning on this. If you do the same behaviour again, I will ban you until the end of the year. If you are unsure what that means, ask, but I suggest first you read the Policy esp the bit about wasting moderator time. – weka]
Any word on the Waterview Tunnel which was meant to have opened in April, heard it was full of water and the pumps are not working as the Chinese electrics had failed?
Ant truth to the rumour the NZ Press, Auckland Council, and commentators are deftly quiet over what is happening, another White Elephant perhaps?
Didn’t Mr Joyce say something to media yesterday about it being a couple of weeks away? Can’t remember where I read it. NZTA have said it was the pumps and fans not being set up right to handle a vehicle fire rather than normal operations.
There have been other rumours but can’t have been enough evidence uncovered to be publishable news. No incentive for the tunnel contractors or funders to talk or leak about it at this stage.
I think they’re like a sports team playing the clock. I know little about traffic science but I’m guessing the opening of the tunnel will provide a temporary noticeable difference to Auckland’s congestion. National campaign gold, commuters hopping out of their cars and saying to a reporter: “Wow, I got to work in 20 minutes, I haven’t done that this millennium.” I reckon count back about four-five weeks from the election date for the tunnel opening.
Heh. Given what the uncontrollable public have said since Welli’s new Kapiti expressway opened, I’m not sure Joyce would count on positive stories. Installing ramp lights and scrambling to add extra lanes at the last minute are hardly a vote of confidence.
Change to New Zealand’s drug laws is “inevitable” – and associate health minister Peter Dunne says he’s willing to lead the debate on it.
Dunne envisions an Aotearoa where the drug trade is no longer controlled by gangs, but by the law – with licenced drug sellers able to cultivate and distribute tested and approved class C drugs such as cannabis.
He cautions he is not calling for the legalisation and decriminalisation of cannabis and other class C drugs, but rather a change to the way they’re classified.
Like any conservative he’s looking at a social change that he doesn’t actually like and is so working to slow it down. This is causing further damage as the gangs and other criminal organisations keep reaping super-profits from illegality of more or less harmless drugs.
That and the fact that he got seriously burned when he was supportive of artificial marijuana which turned out to be even more harmful. He seems to have an inbuilt bias against marijuana based upon it’s illegal therefore it must be bad and isn’t questioning why it became illegal in the first place.
NZ never made marijuana illegal on our own but through the accordance with its international obligations under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, New Zealand passed the Narcotics Act in 1965, which banned a number of drugs, including cannabis which was, we can assume, fully driven by the US.
Dunne doesn’t have the numbers to change the current law, but to his credit he has been learning about the evidence base supporting change. Ask Ross Bell from the Drug Foundation, for instance.
My last brother died from cancer 6 months ago. His son asked about medicinal cannabis products for pain relief about 6 weeks prior to his death. He was advised his father would be dead before an approval would be made. Fuck you Peter Dunne.
Things that are on the nose are being questioned.
There is something called vaping which sounds like sniffing something.
But below is a radio item on how much perfume is around us all the time, and now constitutes a hazard to more than the super-sensitive (I remember someone collapsing on an ocean-side walk from a sniff of patchouli in the past few years.
She blocked the narrow path which was part of a well-known walk and people had to step over her, which upset her and them.)
science health
30 Jan 2017
Should fragrance be regulated?
From Nine To Noon, 9:30 am on 30 January 2017
An Australian writer who discovered she was one of about 35 percent of people affected by perfumes argues there should be more conversation about regulating the industry. Award-winning author Kate Grenville told Nine to Noon that research for her latest book, The Case Against Fragrance, began after she realised perfumes were giving her headaches. Looking into the problem, she found it was very widespread.
Grenville says a study from Melbourne University suggested about 35 percent of people were affected by scents, with other possible effects including hormone disruption and cancer.
The problem was to do with the chemicals created by companies to make their perfumed products, she said.
“Essential oils cost about 1,000 times more than the comparable sythetics.
“Even though many of these chemicals are well known scientifically to be irritants of various kinds and possibly worse, they don’t have to be tested before they’re put on the market, the ingredients do not have to be fully declared on the label.
“Just the one word fragrance [or parfum] can cover up to a couple of hundred chemicals. And frighteningly… the only real regulation is by the fragrance industry itself.”
She says much of the testing was performed by the industry itself, and while the industry freely admitted that the chemicals were known to be bad for humans they also claimed to have safe measures of the chemicals.
“I don’t know where we go with it, but I wanted to start the conversation.”
“There’s nothing therapeutic about the fragrances, and of course it’s well known in other industries beside fragrance that if you’ve put an enormous amount of time and money into researching something unique, a unique product, you should not be deprived of the benefit of that by listing the formula.”
(I know someone who has canisters up near the ceiling in a corner that puff out some sort of fragrance every 5 minutes. It seems most unhealthy to me. It is unnerving too, like someone lurking with a breathing problem.)
weka
I saw you referring to people being affected by ‘vaping’ and thought about hearing this about perfume and chemicals a while ago on radionz but had not looked closely at it. It is interesting isn’t it and I also wonder about the health of people with these puffing ‘billies’ in houses and offices putting out their chemicals all the time.
When it comes to perfume I remember visiting Grasse in France and the Fragonard perfume factory in the early 1970s. They had been making perfume from flowers for yonks there and growers of flowers were well established with their small intensive farms in that seemingly rocky region. Then I read that they were replacing flower use with chemical synthetics and that the flower growers had lost their place in the business enterprise world there. Very sad.
And going further into it all, it is part of the chemical business advance which got such a boost around WW2 with, amongst other malpractices, making the chemicals sprinkled on the Jews in the charnel houses of the Nazis. We might well label the last 50 years the (Noxious) Chemical Demi-century.
ZyklonB (hydrogen cyanide used in the death camps)
(NB – Hydrogen cyanide had been used as a pesticide for agricultural purposes by California orange growers since the 1880s.) http://www.wollheim-memorial.de/en/zyklon_b_en_2
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('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, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
George Webb explaining the confusing mess behind the global Clinton web.
It’s like Iran-Contra but instead of going North to South, it’s going East to West
Sort of bizarre.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11864132
Funding to reduce rheumatic fever in New Zealand has been halved in this week’s Budget.
That is despite the Government’s failure to reach a target of reducing hospitalisations for the serious illness, which is one of its top 10 priorities for the public sector.
The Budget shows funding for rheumatic fever has fallen from $10 million a year to $5 million a year.
“the polls have narrowed, with the latest from YouGov showing just a five point Conservative lead (less than the margin in 2015). It may be an outlier but it is not that much of an outlier; another poll on the same day showed an eight-point lead. If the YouGov poll were translated into seats, the Conservatives would have an overall majority of just two seats. And the poll was taken after the Manchester bombing, an event that people thought would boost Mrs May’s appeal.”
http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2017/05/markets-and-british-election-0?cid1=cust/ddnew/n/n/n/20170526n/owned/n/n/nwl/n/n/ap/Daily_Dispatch/email&etear=dailydispatch
There is an interesting report from the London School of Economics that recently came out.
.
“The results of this study show that Jeremy Corbyn was represented unfairly by the British press through a process of vilification that went well beyond the normal limits of fair debate and disagreement in a democracy. Corbyn was often denied his own voice in the reporting on him and sources that were antiCorbyn tended to outweigh those that support him and his positions. He was also systematically treated with scorn and ridicule in both the broadsheet and tabloid press in a way that no other political leader is or has been. Even more problematic, the British press has repeatedly associated Corbyn with terrorism and positioned him as a friend of the enemies of the UK. The result has been a failure to give the newspaper reading public a fair opportunity to form their own judgements about the leader of the country’s main opposition.”
.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/pdf/JeremyCorbyn/Cobyn-Report-FI…
.
Glenn
Thanks for the info.
Someone on radionz telling about himself in USA. He just said that some people don’t listen to facts or reason with any change of perceptions, because they NEED their beliefs to be right. His father said that it wasn’t enough to be right but to be able to present your thinking in a way that gets heard. He is a scientist interested in space. I thought his thoughts about dealing with science-twisters interesting.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. He’s a best-selling author, Emmy Award winner, recipient of 19 honorary doctorates, and a man who was once named “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive”.
Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The centre is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003.
From 1995 to 2005, Tyson wrote monthly essays in the ‘Universe’ column for Natural History magazine, some of which were published in his book Death by Black Hole (2007); a second book, Astrophysics For People in a Hurry, has just been released. He will be in New Zealand for the first time in early June to present his show, A Cosmic Perspective, at both Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena and the Spark Arena in Auckland.
linky – http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201845400/neil-degrasse-tyson-a-cosmic-perspective
TripeMarketingBoard @TripeUK
BREAKING: Stocks of dead cats ‘perilously low’ says dead cat trade body, as Tory Party HQ are accused of hoarding supplies.
https://twitter.com/TripeUK/status/868011128676286465
I put up a comment referring to Radionz interview with scientist.
Here is the link –
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201845400/neil-degrasse-tyson-a-cosmic-perspective
Here is a principled man who reflects on himself and the world bravely and sometimes painfully. This will resonate with some of the people who comment here, who choose the path least trod.
10:20 Prof Michael Jackson – The wherewithal of life
Professor Michael D Jackson is a New-Zealand-born anthropologist and creative writer. He has published 30 books of poetry, fiction, ethnography and memoir, and is internationally known for his vast body of work. Most notably, he has helped define the field of ‘existential anthropology’ – looking at how groups of humans make meaning of their lives in the face of adversity.
In New Zealand, Jackson is best known for his poetry and creative non-fiction (Latitudes of Exile was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1976, and Wall won the New Zealand Book Award for Poetry in 1981). Since 1969 he has conducted extensive fieldwork among the Kuranko of Sierra Leone, the Warlpiri and Kuku-Yalanji of Australia, and African migrants in Europe. Jackson is currently Distinguished Professor of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School.
Link also for Prof Jackson –
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201845402/prof-michael-jackson-the-wherewithal-of-life
Accused of underpaying women, Google says it’s too expensive to get wage data
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/26/google-gender-discrimination-case-salary-records
Data that is easily stored and retrievable is supposed to be one of the great pluses of the modern technological era that we live in, bringing knowledge and facts so that we can solve complex problems! And all that hyperbole.
Cowards of Our Time
No. 1: RICHARD HORTON
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/05/25/in-the-annals-of-sacks-of-shit-it-cannot-be-doubted-that-richard-horton-will-forever-occupy-a-place-of-honor/
Follow the link below for a interesting and, I think, largely on target, analysis of the US political situation by Paul Street. He considers the reasons behind the failure of the Democratic party and liberals (I know “liberal” is a label in dispute, but read the article to see what the author means by it) — their failure to get why so many working class Americans voted Trump and their consequent failure to re-think their own approach.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/05/26/its-not-gonna-be-okay-the-nauseating-nothingness-of-neoliberal-capitalist-and-professional-class-politics/
Does the Northland doctor who became enraged and invaded the stage at the Kaitaia screening of Vaxxed earnestly believe people will take his criticism seriously considering he hasn’t even viewed the film?
IMO, he exposed his bias, thus weaken his credibility, bringing into question those who supported his outburst.
He would have had far more credibility if he had actually viewed the film and directly addressed its assertions.
Poor Dr Lance O’Sullivan can’t lance a boil from school sores.
He is sore because he devotes his life trying to bring better health to poor people who have not the health education to understand how important it is to try and protect yourself against the might of the mites that are viruses etc.
And then the causality thing, the percentages thing is used to galvanise the populace against taking protective measures. One thing goes wrong, is done wrong and suddenly no thing must be done despite the foreseeable results of damaging sickness and community infection spread, which the so-called carers will then present to the doctor for hopeful healing.
We live with causality all the time, can’t people understand it. We don’t always wash our hands even, we allow our children and ourselves to suffer from tooth decay spreading germs throughout the body. The atmosphere is full of spores of fungus, dead skin has been said to swirl around us with bacteria riding on it like surfboarders.
There are problems lining up for us whether viruses or car ‘accidents’ from deliberate acts or actually real accidents, such as children being run over by cars in driveways, by enraged, maddened or drugged people, by those affected by traumatic breakdown of heart attacks. We don’t ban cars, we have to go to the lav, we can’t continue using germicide hand washes at home because the growth in their use affects the processes dealing with sewage to stop it putrefying etc., the inability to control meningitis, tuberculosis that is untreatable is looming, and we have wails mostly from women, that they can’t take the risk of vaccination.
It would be the stuff of fiction one would think, but no. (And I haven’t mentioned those who have taken bible readings to mean that they shouldn’t allow their children to have blood transfusions and instead watch them die rather than enable them so they can have a full life as an independent human.)
Dr Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) died through trying to help woman to have safer childbirth. He should be a woman’s hero known by all.
Despite various publications of results where hand washing reduced mortality to below 1%, Semmelweis’s observations conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community. Semmelweis could offer no acceptable scientific explanation for his findings, and some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands.
Semmelweis’s practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory and Joseph Lister, acting on the French microbiologist’s research, practiced and operated, using hygienic methods, with great success.
In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum, where he died at age 47 of pyaemia, after being beaten by the guards, only 14 days after he was committed.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis
Also Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior was forthright and was attacked by the medical profession because of his efforts to help prevent disease and death in the general public.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes_Sr.
In 1843, Holmes published “The Contagiousness of puerperal fever” in the short-lived publication New England Quarterly Journal of Medicine and Surgery. The essay argued—contrary to popular belief at the time, which predated germ theory of disease—that the cause of puerperal fever, a deadly infection contracted by women during or shortly after childbirth, stems from patient to patient contact via their physicians.[61] Holmes gathered a large collection of evidence for this theory, including stories of doctors who had become ill and died after performing autopsies on patients who had likewise been infected.[62] In concluding his case, he insisted that a physician in whose practice even one case of puerperal fever had occurred, had a moral obligation to purify his instruments, burn the clothing he had worn while assisting in the fatal delivery, and cease obstetric practice for a period of at least six months.[63]
A few years later, Ignaz Semmelweis would reach similar conclusions in Vienna, where his introduction of prophylaxis (handwashing in chlorine solution before assisting at delivery) would considerably lower the puerperal mortality rate.
Though it largely escaped notice when first published, Holmes eventually came under attack by two distinguished professors of obstetrics—Hugh L. Hodge and Charles D. Meigs—who adamantly denied his theory of contagion.[64] In 1855, Holmes chose to republish the essay in the form of a pamphlet under the new title Puerperal Fever as a Private Pestilence.
In a new introduction, in which Holmes directly addressed his opponents, he wrote: “I had rather rescue one mother from being poisoned by her attendant, than claim to have saved forty out of fifty patients to whom I had carried the disease.”[65] He added, “I beg to be heard in behalf of the women whose lives are at stake, until some stronger voice shall plead for them.”[66] The then controversial work is now considered a landmark in germ theory of disease.[28]
People who propose a blanket refusal to vaccinate are totally irresponsible.
There have been cases where the vaccination has been unsatisfactory, has had toxic elements, and when if the person receiving it is not in good health with good immune response, they can contract the disease, this perhaps when there has been a live though weakened sample given. So there is a necessity to ensure that the procedures be followed carefully. Saying no to all will get the response from caring medicos that they despair as they try and save suffering children who are presented by these mothers from utopia who won’t take responsibility for guarding their children against serious disease.
Organisers of the New Zealand screenings, WavesNZ, say: “If Dr. O’Sullivan had watched it he would know it’s not anti-vaccine, rather pro safe-vaccine.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/health/2017/05/new-zealander-of-the-year-dr-lance-o-sullivan-storms-stage-at-anti-vaccine-film-screening.html?ref=ves-nextauto
Here’s an interview with the film’s producer
https://youtu.be/tvcdh7KlgPI?t=1m38s
“pro safe vaccine”.
piss off. That suggests that vaccines aren’t about the safest medical treatment there is – can you name a safer one? Vaccines make panadol or aspirin look like arsenic, and their benefits save millions – provided as many people as possible use them.
I also thought he lessened his credibility by arguing from his emotion and his authority and his ideology. Calling the people who organised the film to come here ‘vile’ said heaps. Interesting to see so many people support O’Sullivan from such emotive places instead of using logical arguments. The dishonesty about ideology is a problem.
I think the people who brought the film here did a massive disservice to the people who want to retain the choice to not vaccinate. Afaik there is no connection between MMR and autism. But there are other good reasons for some people to choose not using that vaccine. The anti-vaxxers are further polarising the whole thing by using false science and that’s going to lose in the end.
The pro-vaxxers are also polarising the situation, which shows them to be just as irrational. I want to bang their heads together (both groups).
Indeed, he let his emotion get the better of him.
And yes, it was interesting to see so many people support O’Sullivan from such emotive places instead of using logical arguments. Unfortunately, it tends to be an emotive topic.
Have you seen the film?
no. I’m mildly curious so that I can critique it and have a better argument against the MMR causes autism thing, but I suspect I won’t bother, too many other more interesting things to look at 🙂
The Doctor’s outburst has inspired me to view it.
Dr Lance is there at the bottom of the cliff doing the best he can to clean up the mess left by those that did not vaccinate. Far North poor Maori represent a hot-spot. Dr Lance, New Zealander of the year, could do whatever medical job he wishes. He chooses to bring his skills to impoverished Far North Maori.
Day in, day out he is helping parents and treating children that didn’t need to have lifetimes of carrying the ailments that vaccination would of stopped dead. I suspect he has met a couple of people that have had unfortunate side-effects as a result of vaccination. He points to his 100’s of patient files.
He doesn’t need to see the movie. If it’s bringing any message to the Far North that isn’t ‘Give your baby the jab.’ Up here, it’s dangerous propaganda, it is his enemy, mine too. Most of us with the ability to make an educated choice can watch the movie anytime we wish online.
Thanks for standing up Doc, you rock.
“He doesn’t need to see the movie.”
He does if he wants people to take his criticism of it seriously.
Thus one can’t claim it’s dangerous propaganda when one doesn’t actually know what the film has asserted.
If you know that the basis of the movie is that very discredited debarred ex doctor who started the whole anti vaccination process based on thoroughly discredited data, you would have to be a fool to accept the basic premise. Some would argue that climate change is a myth but you shouldn’t say so unless you have looked at the films produced by the Deniers.
Go Dr O’Sullivan. A good man.
” very discredited debarred ex doctor who started the whole anti vaccination process based on thoroughly discredited data”
That’s the MMR vaccine debate. It’s not the vaccine debate in general, which predates that issue by many years.
“If you know that the basis of the movie is that very discredited debarred ex doctor who started the whole anti vaccination process based on thoroughly discredited data, you would have to be a fool to accept the basic premise.”
From my understanding that is not the basis of the film.
Yeah, it is,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaxxed
“Thus one can’t claim it’s dangerous propaganda when one doesn’t actually know what the film has asserted.”
In this case, one can. The MMR vaccine/autism connection is based on really bad science. There comes a time when one doesn’t need to see that rehashed in order to have an opinion about it.
I haven’t seen Cowspiracy. But I know enough about the issues and I’ve read enough reviews of the film to know that it’s vegan propaganda.
“In this case, one can.”
But as we have both yet to see the film how can we be sure that this is what the film is totally based upon?
I’d be surprised if the medical people were outright lying about that, but it could be true.
The film is directed by Andrew Wakefield, the guy who did the bad science on the MMR vaccine. And it’s clearly about that,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaxxed
This says otherwise.
https://youtu.be/_KrpK0rbl9w?t=12m45s
Wakefield *did direct the film and it *is about the MMR/autism link. That video says it’s not about Wakefield, which is fine. I was talking about the whole issue. The film isn’t for instance about vaccines in general.
The big problem there is that even if there are issues with the CDC and new research, the fact that it’s Wakefield that has made the film means that there is zero chance of scientifically literate people taking it seriously. Seriously bad own goal, and it fucks me off because now it’s almost impossible to talk about real issues that exist with vaccines.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/88323
‘Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court – Now What?’
“Seriously bad own goal.”
Indeed.
Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court – Now What?
Now what? Corrupt ghouls will sell more books and movie screenings to dupes, and more children will die of preventable diseases. That’s what.
“one can’t claim it’s dangerous propaganda when one doesn’t actually know what the film has asserted.”
Ridiculous. Enough people and organisations who I trust have responded by now. I only need to be able to read.
The guy was struck off for breaching ethical standards, not for being a lovable misunderstood radical.
His position harms the public’s understanding about autistic people. I won’t tolerate that, and I do not need to sit through his little movie to come to that position any more than I need to read Atlas Shrugged to detest libertarians or Mein Kampf to grasp that Adolf wasn’t a nice chap.
“The guy was struck off…”
What guy?
The film’s director, Andrew Wakefield.
But apparently he’s not the topic of the film.
https://youtu.be/_KrpK0rbl9w?t=12m45s
Please read any of the many legit articles describing what the film is about – it’s Wakefield trying to defend his position that vaccines cause autism (which they do not). You’re wasting our time here. Surely you have something better to be defending?
Andrew Wakefield is also a good mate of Trump’s. This is not surprising as they are both unethical and dangerous people .
My understanding is it’s about a CDC whistle-blower exposing a cover-up within the CDC, highlighting the conflict of interest the CDC has in their core role of promoting vaccines while also overseeing there safety.
I’ll judge it myself when I get round to viewing it.
I wasn’t defending it. I was highlighting the NZ Doctor’s outburst and how he failed to address the film directly, which IMO hurt his credibility on the matter.
Yes, but it’s not any vaccine. It’s the MMR one, and the supposed coverup is about a link with autism. That’s the problem.
That’s not a conflict of interest.
It might be. Look at the Fat Hypothesis issue. It is possible for health authorities to get things very wrong, and that’s not always innocent mistakes but can be pinned on the culture and how the various processes work (or don’t work). I’m not arguing that the film is right, just the principle that there are no conflicts of interest in how public health gets developed.
For instance, I’d like to see a better reporting system for vaccine reactions (think we’ve had this conversation before), and IMO the reason we haven’t had that historically is because of the pro-vaccine bias didn’t want to look at the problems that closely (and probably some patronising stance about parents not knowing what they’re talking about).
There’s a difference between coming to a wrong conclusion and failing to declare and accommodate for a conflict of interest. One is being human, the other is Wakefield-level corruption.
Anyone who doesn’t have a “bias” about dead babies is fucked in the head.
I was referring to his bias against the film.
As he put it, that film will contribute to more dead children.
Yet, he wouldn’t really know as he hasn’t viewed it. But the comment did expose his bias.
For all he knows the film may lead to better oversight, hence safer vaccines, thus improve their uptake.
Even if he hadn’t so much as checked wikipedia or a review of it, even just the title and the director is leading enough.
Seriously, you don’t need to lick a turd to come to a conclusion about its taste.
“he wouldn’t really know as he hasn’t viewed it”
You do not need to endure a publication to know where you stand on it. That’s what reviews and so on are for.
A review is largely based on the opinion of the reviewer and can potentially be presented in an unbalanced manner. Therefore, it’s no substitute to the full publication. Especially when one publicly challenges the publication and wants to be taken seriously.
Which is why his credibility, is at zero!
Those who comment on the film without having seen it, are a symptom of wider societal issues!
Can someone with zero credibility, credibly assess the credibility of others?
No, you can’t. Oh dear, how sad. Never mind.
That one is getting borderline OAB. It’s been great having so many people commenting on the weekends again, can you please try and not make things unpleasant.
One Two’s pointless personal attack on Dr. O’Sullivan already made things unpleasant long before I arrived.
I made a movie that denies climate change. You have to watch it or you’re a symptom of wider societal issues. Pretty sure that’s a ‘pwned’ argument, eh.
Raise the double standard.
The pointless personal attack was seemingly from O’Sullivan against the makers of the documentary, those who are showing it, and those who are watching it…
My comment was that if an MD make such irrational, emotive and one sided comments, that his credibility is zero..was not a personal attack…
Making comments (general statement) or taking a position on the documentary, when not having seen it..ridiculous…
Surely you understand that..
Perhaps not…why not?
Is it deliberate?
His attacks on them have a point: that more children will die or be harmed as a result of their actions.
His credibility is bolstered by his being able to point to the facts of the matter, which support his position. That, and the fact of his personal and professional commitments, and the oath he took.
Which of us is the one having comprehension problems?
Cripes you critics!!
While you criticise someone for caring too much about something and shouting about a film that encourages doubt and denial which isn’t justified by science, though it appears to be scientific, it cuts into the credibility of a rare person trying to do well in a bad world.
Why such keenness to criticise good people in this post? Are there millions of people out there rising up to do the hard yakker of helping others and society and trying to set up systems that give vulnerable people better chances in life? Answer, no, numbers are far less than the uncaring, and struggling.
It’s so bloody middle class to be dissecting someone because they didn’t follow best practice or the regs in exactly the right way. They may have committed some offence against propriety or the law and they must be villified and exposed and cleansed before they are allowed to continue with their efforts to do good, a shamed figure with clay feet. The upper class, where the most money is, are less likely than the middle class to take any interest, so it tends to be the middle class that supplies the socially conscious and able to do the good works, but also the cutting critics and nitpickers.
Give it a rest – it’s like counting the angels dancing on the head of a pin. Better still get your own head so far down working to improve conditions in this rotten world that you don’t have time for this ridiculous and unseemly patter as you watch the passing parade from your superior positions.
Greywarshark, I respect and enjoy the thought you put into your comments here, but specifically around this, I am not in agreement with you (which is ok)
If O’Sillivan wished to make sincere and genuine difference, he would be encouraging open debate, not seeking to close it down pathways which are a necessary component, leading to wider more inclusive discussions..
It sounds like O’Sullivan was seeking to subvert the right of adults to take onboard information, which despite what yourself or others think, is critical to widening the thinking and awareness around vaccinations, and the gaping holes in the ‘science’
Such actions, in my opinion are not the actions/methods of a medical professional (or any rational human being) who seeks to deliver the most caring health service and advice possible. He made a big error of judgment, and in the process has exposed his true level and intent…not good enough, not not at all and he deserves all the criticism he gets (I’ve not criticized him, I’ve called out his actions and question them)
There is an abundance of medical and scientific literature, backed by wide sections of professionals across many specific fields, who are challenging the dogma of the ‘vaccine industry’, yet the pretence is that ‘evidence’ does not exist..
That is a lie of the most cynical nature, which fewer and fewer are believing..no you don’t need to be a ‘scientist’ or ‘doctor to identify the gaping holes in the ‘protocols’ or the curruption…most ‘doctors’ do not understand even fundamentals…
The challenge to orthodoxy includes detailing the degradation through revolving doors, conflict of interest ladened farce that are the FDA, Congress, and the worlds largest franchise of the ‘vaccine industry’, The CDC. All who hold patents, with profit generating vaccines in use, or in the pipeline
Researches and scientists are speaking out faster and in higher numbers which the establishment can’t keep the lid on, and people are now hearing the alarms, and taking control of their own well being and that of their family
In rapidly increasing numbers the awareness is spreading far and wide, that the toxins peddled by the chemical companies, have little of nothing to do with science or health. Nutrition and sanitation are the understood and clear leaders in overall general health improvements, the importance of clean food, water and air is clearly understood, and spreading rapidly
The poisons will not be going back in the needles, the current thinking is over, no matter how hysterical the largest lobby group on earth, with their advertising money dependent media outlets, paid for university departments, researches and controlled publishers yell, insult, abuse or call for the deaths of those who ‘speak out and speak up’…it’s over
The ‘irony’ is that ‘real science’ will be the end of the ‘vaccine industry’, as it is currently modeled…
The issues are much wider than the controlled narritive of vaccine/ASD…O’Sullivan needs to either talk about it honestly, or get out of the profession
5-10 years and that industry is over and done with
One Two
Thank you for your considered reply at 2 pm. Unfortunately I think you have become paranoid and I am sure that you have some good evidence of things that have gone wrong with vaccinations and people affected badly or even have died. But when it comes to mass treatment, which we need to build up barriers to the ‘germs’, there is a hopefully very small likelihood of someone’s system reacting even when everything is done well.
And when there are revelations that authorities and companies have been allowing second and third grade treatment it angers greatly.
Greywarshark…
This subject is clearly one which there is a gap between our levels of understanding. I don’t say that categorically, it is the sense I get. I would say the same to many others on this site..
It’s dismissive to use the word ‘paranoid’, not to mention disrespectful to the millions of families around the world whom have had direct and indirect experience with adverse reactions including death. If you had spent some time on this subject, you would likely be more considered in the word selection…many of them completely trusted the ‘industry’…
So vast are the numbers impacted, that the true paranoia exists, within the industry, which through its paranoia has managed to subvert co-opt and essentially monopolize law makers, regulatory bodies and indeed ‘vaccine science’..
If you had spent some time on this subject you would understand the deep conflicts inside the industry..these are mainstream understandings supported by studys from ivy league schools into the corruptive practices inside the industry which has subverted and co-opted regulatory bodies, turning them into corporate extensions..
This includes putting the legal liability onto an unsuspecting public, through ‘vaccine court’ under which the industry has no liability since 1986, and all costs are paid for by the taxpayers, and cases defended by the public servants..again funded by taxpayers…
Another mainstream aspect is the under-reporting of adverse reactions. Again this is a subject widely documented and easily ‘researched’ that at best it reporting is 1/10.
This alone makes the entire model in support of ‘safe & effective’ almost entirely useless, at best..it is 90% unknown what/who/where/why, at a minimum…
Still another mainstream issue, is the ‘industry’ lobby groups, which have ‘given’ more ‘donations’ to legislators between 1998-2012 than any other lobbying industry..by a wide margin
I don’t feel it’s nesessary to list the ‘settlements’ the industry has made over the decades of being outed peddling voodoo , which many believe in as ‘science’..
It’s nothing of the sort, and now even more millions, probably tens of millions around the world are growing in awareness about the industry practices, and what ‘health’ actually is for organic biological beings…
They can’t all be paranoid, and they can’t all be ‘wrong’
All the best, and please keep writing, because I’ll keep reading your comments
Not only are you having comprehension difficulty, but logic, reasoning as well….
Then there the logical fallicies you make…alongside snide personal remarks, simultaneously deflecting and smearing, and offering justification of the ‘attacks’…so it is supporting vilification and bullying, as well..
What a model ‘professional’…must be in the oath to ‘attack, vilify and bully’
Your comment history is ‘laudible’…O’Sullivan is just as defunct, given his performance!
No actual substantive argument then? Just a series of empty ad hominem assertions? I mustn’t hurt your feelings, so I’ll just refer you to the substance of my position, which you can find here.
[there’s no rule against hurting people’s feelings. There is a rule about getting away with rudeness so long as you make a political point. i.e. don’t do personal abuse alone (and don’t use politics to attack people personally). Can you please both stop the personal shit and argue the points. That applies to you too One Two. – weka]
Ranty tanty aside, they certainly are.
And with good reason too.
Measles…
Nope, that does not qualify as “good reason”…
Except to those with an agenda!
As for the ‘polio’ hysteria..
Again…Nope, and the more it’s all pushed, the greater numbers who join and examine the discussion
The pushers/pushing is appreciated!
O’Sullivan was seeking to subvert the right of adults to take onboard information
Two lies in that sentence.
1. Dr. O’Sullivan did not try to prevent people watching the calculated fraud. He advised them that doing so would result in children dying, because that’s the truth.
2. Calculated fraud is not “information”.
Mr. Andrew Wakefield tells lies for money. Helping him makes you an accessory to fraud.
Stay classy.
On-site for the event, were you?
The desperstion you exhibit in your comments on this site, going back many years is remarkable in its consistency
That you keep focusing on Wakefield serves only to illustrate just how limited in value your contributions on the subject, actually are..
Argue all you like, throw insults and projection as if the ranting tantrum thrower is anyone other than yourself…
The industry is bunk, it’s a fraudulent mesh of corporate corruption..peddled on the back of voodoo ‘science’ and neurotoxins injected directly into the blood stream of baby’s and pregnant women and youngsters..
Believe what you want.it’s over, regardless of what you or I have to say!
Funny how Wakefield’s movie invites mention of Wakefield. Almost as though they’re connected in some way 🙄
Have you contacted the police with your story about neurotoxins? Why not try a private prosecution? At least then when you get costs awarded against you, you’ll be able to say you’ve actually risked something personal, as opposed to merely endangering others.
Or is it more a case of, you’re convinced they’re poisoning children and you’re too gutless to act?
Clearly you don’t have basic comprehension let alone critical thinking capabilities
There is a blockage somewhere, and that’s for you to work through
With all the bluster there is not a coherent ‘point of reference’ for which to have a meaningful discussion
But that’s your modus operandi, which has been outed by multiple others on this site, going back many years and until present time
I’ll leave you to it!
I’ve provided you with several coherent points of reference, from the foundations of Dr. O’Sullivan’s credibility, to the overwhelming messages from the medical community.
In response, you have advanced the idea that they are all corrupt or symptomatic of an undefined societal malaise, made vague and sinister allegations about neurotoxins, and declared victory, like George W Bush minus the aircraft carrier.
All smothered in snide bluster sauce.
What you’ve failed to do is advance a single substantive point of argument. And yes, I dine out on your rhetorical corpse. Boo hoo.
“That’s not a conflict of interest.”
Clearly it is, but why don’t you believe so?
“clearly it is”.
No, it’s not. Promotion of public health is the task. Assessing the safety of different interventions and promoting those that are safe and highly beneficial are not contradictory functions relating to that task, therefore no conflict exists.
If “big dead cat” paid the cdc to distribute massive quantities of dead cats and also paid the cdc to assess safety of dead cats, that would be a conflict. But that’s not the case.
The CDC see vaccines as one of our best defenses in promoting public health, therefore they promote their uptake. Thus, being critical of their safety risks discouraging their uptake, hence the potential conflict.
No, it’s not a conflict. Because if there were any safety risks of note, promoting vaccination would be inconsistent with promoting health.
That’s why people run a checklist for contraindications before vaccination (as with any drug intervention). The hazards of contraindicators mean that a particular vaccine (or anything) is not promoted in that case.
It would also be inconsistent with the promotion of one of their main defenses in promoting good health.
And while they do concede to some health concerns, thus don’t recommend certain people be vaccinated, or vaccination be delayed in certain cases, doesn’t mean there isn’t a potential conflict being weighed in their decision process.
One agency charged with overseeing both is likely to have unfortunate consequences.
If one test was manipulated, what’s to say there hasn’t been others?
I would suggest that the actual practise of discouraging vaccination in the case of evident contraindications means that your concern is more paranoid than rational.
Is this a good idea? It reminds me of book The Day of the Triffids where they were grown and developed for the valuable oil they produced and became a deadly pest when liberated by disaster.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thiswayup/audio/201845275/bugs-for-breakfast
Campbell and Nigel Latter are about to do this whole NZ in 2037 interactive telly thing. One of the questions is whether you would give up eating beef and eat ‘bugs’ instead for the sake of the environment.
It’s a nonsense question. I’ll eat local beef in small amounts ahead of imported, highly processed cricket flour. For environmental reasons.
I’d eat the ones from the dude in Dunedin though! Eat local, the less processed the better, so many ecological benefits.
‘Bugs’ bugs me. In NZ we have insects. Bugs are what you get when you have the flu or a cold.
obviously you’ve never been a victim of stare rape!
~ tui
http://themorningwood.co.uk/index.php/2017/03/19/feminists-call-for-action-against-man-who-committed-stare-rape/
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[going by the fact that last time you raised this you ended up banned for flaming, posting offensively and refusing to back up claims. You also appeared incapable of adhering to the site’s Policy and ignored moderation. So you’re getting exactly one warning on this. If you do the same behaviour again, I will ban you until the end of the year. If you are unsure what that means, ask, but I suggest first you read the Policy esp the bit about wasting moderator time. – weka]
So, I should have reported all the women who’ve looked at me over the last 30+ years?
And, yes, women do look and they put quite a lot of emphasis simple physical attractiveness.
Drip drip drip drip. More Trump campaign/Russia stuff keep trickling out. And getting closer to Trump himself.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kushner-russia-contact_us_5928d740e4b0df57cbfbd7db?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Any word on the Waterview Tunnel which was meant to have opened in April, heard it was full of water and the pumps are not working as the Chinese electrics had failed?
Ant truth to the rumour the NZ Press, Auckland Council, and commentators are deftly quiet over what is happening, another White Elephant perhaps?
Didn’t Mr Joyce say something to media yesterday about it being a couple of weeks away? Can’t remember where I read it. NZTA have said it was the pumps and fans not being set up right to handle a vehicle fire rather than normal operations.
There have been other rumours but can’t have been enough evidence uncovered to be publishable news. No incentive for the tunnel contractors or funders to talk or leak about it at this stage.
I think they’re like a sports team playing the clock. I know little about traffic science but I’m guessing the opening of the tunnel will provide a temporary noticeable difference to Auckland’s congestion. National campaign gold, commuters hopping out of their cars and saying to a reporter: “Wow, I got to work in 20 minutes, I haven’t done that this millennium.” I reckon count back about four-five weeks from the election date for the tunnel opening.
Heh. Given what the uncontrollable public have said since Welli’s new Kapiti expressway opened, I’m not sure Joyce would count on positive stories. Installing ramp lights and scrambling to add extra lanes at the last minute are hardly a vote of confidence.
Liberalising NZ’s drug laws ‘inevitable’: Dunne
Like any conservative he’s looking at a social change that he doesn’t actually like and is so working to slow it down. This is causing further damage as the gangs and other criminal organisations keep reaping super-profits from illegality of more or less harmless drugs.
Methinks Dunne has had some focus groups done in an election year where he might lose his seat 😉
That and the fact that he got seriously burned when he was supportive of artificial marijuana which turned out to be even more harmful. He seems to have an inbuilt bias against marijuana based upon it’s illegal therefore it must be bad and isn’t questioning why it became illegal in the first place.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-influence/real-reasons-marijuana-is-banned_b_9210248.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_New_Zealand#History
NZ never made marijuana illegal on our own but through the accordance with its international obligations under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, New Zealand passed the Narcotics Act in 1965, which banned a number of drugs, including cannabis which was, we can assume, fully driven by the US.
Dunne is not the one slowing things down – try the Nat caucus.
Really? What’s been all the drama about people like Helen Kelly getting permission for medical marijuana then?
(and yes the Nats).
Dunne doesn’t have the numbers to change the current law, but to his credit he has been learning about the evidence base supporting change. Ask Ross Bell from the Drug Foundation, for instance.
You don’t think that telling people that it would take years when it should be done in months isn’t actively slowing things down?
My last brother died from cancer 6 months ago. His son asked about medicinal cannabis products for pain relief about 6 weeks prior to his death. He was advised his father would be dead before an approval would be made. Fuck you Peter Dunne.
Things that are on the nose are being questioned.
There is something called vaping which sounds like sniffing something.
But below is a radio item on how much perfume is around us all the time, and now constitutes a hazard to more than the super-sensitive (I remember someone collapsing on an ocean-side walk from a sniff of patchouli in the past few years.
She blocked the narrow path which was part of a well-known walk and people had to step over her, which upset her and them.)
science health
30 Jan 2017
Should fragrance be regulated?
From Nine To Noon, 9:30 am on 30 January 2017
An Australian writer who discovered she was one of about 35 percent of people affected by perfumes argues there should be more conversation about regulating the industry. Award-winning author Kate Grenville told Nine to Noon that research for her latest book, The Case Against Fragrance, began after she realised perfumes were giving her headaches. Looking into the problem, she found it was very widespread.
“One in three people have some sort of health problem from fragrance, either headaches or asthma, very common asthma trigger, nausea or various other symptoms.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201831283/should-fragrance-be-regulated
Listen to the interview duration 8′ :34″
Grenville says a study from Melbourne University suggested about 35 percent of people were affected by scents, with other possible effects including hormone disruption and cancer.
The problem was to do with the chemicals created by companies to make their perfumed products, she said.
“Essential oils cost about 1,000 times more than the comparable sythetics.
“Even though many of these chemicals are well known scientifically to be irritants of various kinds and possibly worse, they don’t have to be tested before they’re put on the market, the ingredients do not have to be fully declared on the label.
“Just the one word fragrance [or parfum] can cover up to a couple of hundred chemicals. And frighteningly… the only real regulation is by the fragrance industry itself.”
She says much of the testing was performed by the industry itself, and while the industry freely admitted that the chemicals were known to be bad for humans they also claimed to have safe measures of the chemicals.
“I don’t know where we go with it, but I wanted to start the conversation.”
“There’s nothing therapeutic about the fragrances, and of course it’s well known in other industries beside fragrance that if you’ve put an enormous amount of time and money into researching something unique, a unique product, you should not be deprived of the benefit of that by listing the formula.”
(I know someone who has canisters up near the ceiling in a corner that puff out some sort of fragrance every 5 minutes. It seems most unhealthy to me. It is unnerving too, like someone lurking with a breathing problem.)
Also here is a story of a NZr making perfume. It would be good if it isn’t based on synthetics.
technology science
13 Dec 2016
Making Perfume the New Zealand Way
From Jesse Mulligan, 1–4pm, 1:21 pm on 13 December 2016
Listen duration 11′ :28″
Our guest is making perfume, in a decommissioned toilet block, complete with a urinal. Perfumer, Vanessa York, has just taken up a residency at Auckland Council community arts facility Studio One: Toi Tū. And her aim is to continue developing a New Zealand perfumery.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/201827527/making-perfume-the-new-zealand-way
also
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/201831060/perfume-playground
thanks! That’s very interesting (the first one). 35% is a pretty high rate, I hadn’t seen a figure put on it before.
weka
I saw you referring to people being affected by ‘vaping’ and thought about hearing this about perfume and chemicals a while ago on radionz but had not looked closely at it. It is interesting isn’t it and I also wonder about the health of people with these puffing ‘billies’ in houses and offices putting out their chemicals all the time.
When it comes to perfume I remember visiting Grasse in France and the Fragonard perfume factory in the early 1970s. They had been making perfume from flowers for yonks there and growers of flowers were well established with their small intensive farms in that seemingly rocky region. Then I read that they were replacing flower use with chemical synthetics and that the flower growers had lost their place in the business enterprise world there. Very sad.
And going further into it all, it is part of the chemical business advance which got such a boost around WW2 with, amongst other malpractices, making the chemicals sprinkled on the Jews in the charnel houses of the Nazis. We might well label the last 50 years the (Noxious) Chemical Demi-century.
Perfumes and aromatic chemicals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragrance_extraction
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0898140X15354161
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530113-600-would-you-wear-yeast-perfume-microbes-used-to-brew-scent/
http://mymerrymessylife.com/2013/04/homemade-all-natural-perfume.html
DIY
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Chem_p083.shtml#materials
and
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/diy-chemical-free-perfume-and-cologne-alternatives/
and
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Natural-Perfume
Noxious or killing chemicals.
USA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_Corps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_chemical_weapons_program
http://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2015/10/11/the-dow-chemical-company-midland-mi/
Germany
http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i41/Nazi-origins-deadly-nerve-gases.html
(Third Reich chemists invented the devastating chemical weapons, but the Nazis didn’t deploy them against the Allies during World War II but did in the death camps)
ZyklonB (hydrogen cyanide used in the death camps)
(NB – Hydrogen cyanide had been used as a pesticide for agricultural purposes by California orange growers since the 1880s.)
http://www.wollheim-memorial.de/en/zyklon_b_en_2
Also:
Ebook NZ$175 The Chemical Century: Molecular Manipulation and Its Impact on the 20th Century
By Richard J. Sundberg
and
Lethal Mists: An Introduction to the Natural and Military Sciences of …
By Eric R. Taylor (print book)