Hard News: Mediocrity Watch
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It's a bit tough to blame Ryall who has his sights firmly fixed on better medical services when Helen Clark etc had loads of time and ideology to move on pay equity.
Beatrice - Helen Clark etc - as you call them - did a great deal about pay equity - but unlike Tony Ryall etc. they did it the slow, democratic way - finding out where the inequities were - starting with the public service - and how female occupations could be compared with male ones. The words careful, inclusive and meticulous don't seem to be in the vocabulary of this government - rip, shit and bust and to hell with people and their silly little opinions seems to be the language they prefer.
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re Bees: On this perfect day for bees I went out to the garden, which has bee-friendly roses. Usually my dog snaps away at flies and bees - occasionally looking a little pained when she gets one - but today, not a bee to be seen. Is there a bee conference somewhere? Or do I blame the dog?
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there has to be a balance and fairness for all kids
Unpacking this rather crucially depends on what you mean by "fairness".
* fairness of resource allocation by government? (in which case, your children's education depends on your family's income)
or
* fairness of opportunity to develop potential? (in which case, some children will need more resources available) -
men's jobs in some areas will go, as public service managers are asked to account for every penny.
My thought on seeing the "we can't afford wimmins" comment from Ryall was "it seems you can't afford men actually".
Fire all the blokes, replace them with women and blam. There's your 10% budget cut. -
Fire all the blokes, replace them with women and blam. There's your 10% budget cut.
Wouldn't that be nice if it included Tony Ryall. (I know! They have equity!)
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I'm concerned that a decision by Tony Ryall that should worry anyone with a stake in special-needs education has gone almost unreported.
Well, perhaps if Labour had an abler Opposition spokesperson in the Education portfolio this issue would get the attention it deserves. But no, not even a single presser from Carter.
Education is an area that Labour should be trouncing the Gov't, both on policy and politics, but instead they pick one of their weakest members to face arguably the weakest link in the Cabinet. It defies belief.
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has anyone else noticed that bees seem to be coming back?
Yes - I've stood on two in the last couple of weeks. I wish they'd stay away!
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imagine a tomato plant. Now imagine going around with a paintbrush and transferring pollen from one flower to another. Now imagine doing that for *every tomato we eat*. It'd be a total nightmare.
I remember reading something a few years ago that playing Guns n Roses extremely loudly did a reasonable job at pollinating tomatoes.
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It seems such a tired issue now in any case.
Yes, issues of justice and equality are so *boring*, aren't they? Let's ignore them.
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Is there a bee conference somewhere? Or do I blame the dog?
From what I've heard, the varroa mite is doing the damage, some kind of parasite. But nature and selective breeding may be fighting back. There has been work on picking out resistant bees (which somehow sterilize the mites) for selective breeding via insemination, a process that is also costly, but perhaps at some point it just becomes a super-survivor and nature takes over again? Either way, the dog is not to blame.
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Either way, the dog is not to blame.
Whew! (wipes copiously sweating forehead).
Actually I saw one bee when I went out to clean up dog poo.
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Obama getting tough on banks and bankers
Don't you think that a *tiny* part of the blame might be with people who were keen to buy houses on 99% mortgages that they couldn't actually afford to pay, but that didn't matter because the price would rocket and they could refinance.
Or with governments that did squat to prevent it.
But no, it was evil people (cunningly disguised as ordinary kids from places like Romford and Brooklyn) who conspired to rip everyone off.
And of course, cutting back wages so that all the smart people leave is totally the way to sort out the situation.
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JLM,
I'd like to hear from others about how ladybirds are distributed up and down the country. Up till recently, the only times I ever saw ladybirds locally were bi-annually in our local supermarket carpark - dunno what they were doing in that asphalt jungle - and they always flew away before I got them home.
But earlier this summer I saw one, just one - in my own garden. This is in Dunedin - I know what you mean about lack of cicadas, Kyle, though we've had a few quiet solos.
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Bees: Yes! I saw the first one last week & got so excited that I spent 15 minutes following it around, swiping at bumblebees in it's vicinity & yelling at them to fuck off & leave the pollen/nectar for My Precious... Saw another one today, big fat healthy-looking one too.
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Russell, a few of us at PA attended a 'Hustle for Russell' function in Wellington a year or two ago. Bill English spoke movingly and convincingly about the need to support children with different needs. You even wrote an article about his speech.
Time to pick up the damned phone and talk to our Finance Minister about the need to live up to his own fine words.
This is a attitude travesty and should treated as such.
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JLM - ladybirds feed on insects that tend to get sprayed into oblivion at the first sign of their appearance - aphids, scale & the like. It may be that you've been living in areas where there's not much of a food source for them.
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Getting back to moaning about the Minister of Health. There is one area of huge injustice that has to addressed.
To get support for children with autism and their families through the Needs Assessment and Service Coordination system, the person with autism has to be diagnosed with intellectual impairment or some other medical condition as well. Apparently, families of children who have autism but normal intelligence (and what a load of baggage that phrase brings), don't have any need for respite or other support,. And considering, most of these children are also ineligible for any targetted educational support - means it can be pretty stressful in some AS households.
Some of those with the highest support needs are adults who have never had a diagnosis and suspect they have autism. Not only can they get no state support to get a diagnosis, but even if they can find and pay for a diagnostician, they are not entitled to any services through the Ministry of Health's NASC system.
Funnily enough the Ministry of Health's Disability Services is about to start a consultative road show around NZ. Please encourage people to attend and tell their stories. DS are not the bad guys - they need public support to show the need and get more money for services
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Funnily enough the Ministry of Health's Disability Services is about to start a consultative road show around NZ.
Terrific, Hilary, thanks for that
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This is a attitude travesty and should treated as such.
The budget will be an interesting read indeed. Mr English has given people hope in a variety of areas over the last few years.
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Heh, I'm at an education conference. I just love my last sentence (requoted by Giovanni).
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All this bee talk is damned interesting. I had erroneously assumed that NZ had some type of native bee, so thanks for the background, Lucy. That explains why NZ's indigenous flora is quite narrow. Airborne and honeysucker pollination only.
Cicadas don't bother deaf people.
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apparently cicadas only start singing when it has hotted up to 18 deg C.
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Lots of cicadas in Aro Valley at present - has been for last month or so.
Not so many bees. They're there, but just average numbers.
Hate wasps.
(Loved "The Wasp Factory", though.)
Also, fan of short sentences.
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We have ladybirds - but not as many as there seemed to be about five years ago.
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Not for all crims, though...
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