gdp's Comments

Gotcha! : What i want from the iSlate

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:33:56 +0000

Sooner or later, Apple are going to make something that sucks. Ah. You mean like the Apple TV? The NeXT? The LISA? And let us not forget the "hockey puck" mouse. I suspect you are going to be disappointed by the MacBook Touch (my guess as to it's real name). You sound suspiciously like a "bleeding edge of technology" user. Apple has traditionally avoided this in all but its Mac Pro line. My guess is the tablet will act mostly like a large iPod touch, although the OS is extensible and should be able to run a full version of snow leopard, if it has the capacity. I seriously doubt if you will be able to run emulation software for Matlab and Mathematica on it.

Whale Oil Beef Hooked | Gotcha! : F-f-f-f-reezing f-f-f-ricken Cold - The Northern Hemisphere shivers

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:36:14 +0000

It is time for a revolt against our politicians No, no, Whale. You have it all wrong. It's the politicians who are revolting. Really, really revolting...

Fiscally Conservative Kiwi : Time for a voter's veto

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:20:46 +0000

Actually, all the firefighter question established is that parliament could not employ less than the 1995 level of firefighters. There would have been nothing to stop them from employing more. But your poor example does not disprove your point. A binding referendum can force parliament to do stupid things as in California, where binding referendums have repeatedly reduced taxes while increasing services. And, guess what? - California is bankrupt.

Whale Oil Beef Hooked | Gotcha! : New Tui ad I doubt will go up

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:29:55 +0000

I prefer "Cheeky Darkie" myself, but that might be a bit too accurate... ;)

MacDoctor : Bike Beneficiaries

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:24:23 +0000

Harpoon: It is not a case of people wanting to be hurt but people becoming careless, particularly employers, who have no incentive to make their workplace safe and non-professsional sports people who have little incentive to be careful. This is why NZ has one of the highest accident rates in the world. And ACC IS an accident insurance and always has been. It was a socialist fantasy that it could be another form of Social Welfare - a fantasy that that pushed ACC into the parlous state it is in.

MacDoctor : Bike Beneficiaries

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:47:08 +0000

It is because Labour sees ACC as a form of social welfare that they made such bad managers of ACC. Social Welfare has no imperative to meet its costs.

MacDoctor : Bike Beneficiaries

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:44:07 +0000

Not exactly, Bruce. ACC modifies premiums for entire industries and parts of industries, rather than one particular company or another.

MacDoctor : Bike Beneficiaries

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:42:56 +0000

You only have to read through the comments on the FrogBlog post I linked to to realise exactly how true that is. ACC was envisaged by it's creator to be another form of social security.

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:21:32 +0000

That is 12 weeks on the waiting list assuming you have enough "points" to make it on to the list. ANd that doesn't include the wait for the specialist appointment (often another 12 weeks). So that's 24 weeks, assuming I make the "grade" Compared to 1-2 weeks in the US. Assuming I have insurance.

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:11:10 +0000

Hardly. No-one is arguing that being uninsured is not bad for your health. Of course it is. But there are much better ways for the US to help uninsured people than setting up another giant taxpayer-backed insurance scheme. I outline a far better scheme right here.

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:05:10 +0000

12 Weeks! I know of an old lady who waited three years! Of course, that was before the waiting list was "cleaned up" by bumping all the elderly off the hip replacement list unless they were virtually housebound by their disability. Socialised medicine = cardboard compassion (MacDoctor expression based on those smiling cardboard cutouts you see in front of shops)

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:00:02 +0000

You left out the important word - Eventually. Your relative will eventually get treated. In some forms of socialised medicine - notably europe and the UK - this changes to NEVER if you are old. Ageist denial of treatment is the commonest problem in socialised medicine. And that is a very bad thing for society.

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 10:53:00 +0000

There are a number of factors involved besides stillbirth. There is also reduced immunisation rates, large illegal immigrant populations, areas of poverty and the like. Canada and the UK do count still births but their definition is different from the US. Note that life expectancy is not related to healthcare. Poland has a better life expectancy than the US but you wouldn't want to be hospitalised there. If you want a good measure of health care there life expectancy from age 80 is a better one (the very elderly rely massively on healthcare to survive). The US beats every other country hands down here. From memory I think the nearest rival is Canada at 30% lower.

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 10:41:12 +0000

Not appreciably. Emergency treatment cannot be denied on the basis of inability to pay, so urgent treatment is never delayed. Elective procedures require approval which usually delays treatment only by a day or two. Denial of treatment is a separate issue - it is not delaying treatment, it is just saying you aren't insured for it. This usually means that you have a "cheap" policy. Don't confuse denial of claims with rationing of treatment, they are two very different things.

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 10:35:38 +0000

All that money goes on two things - better access and legal fees.

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 08:31:08 +0000

Some states all ready have mandatory healthcare Not to my knowledge. Which states are these? there is enormous waste There is no evidence that resources are wasted. US access is much, much better than NZ. By only having one hospital in Hamilton, we guarantee that we will wait six months for a hip replacement, six weeks for a bypass. IF WE ARE LUCKY!

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 08:25:18 +0000

Comfortable would be 100K + six months salary AND an income protection policy that kicks in at six months...

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 08:23:38 +0000

Yes, I particularly like the section on waiting times - where they deliberately compare the long Canadian waiting times to the long waiting times on Medicaid, the crappy public-funded insurance. And avoid comparing it to the vastly shorter times on private insurances. Even the much-maligned HMOs have shorter waiting times...

MacDoctor : Obamacare Wins (Maybe)

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 08:21:00 +0000

Ah. The "worst statistics for health care" myth. The US has, in fact, the best access stats for healthcare in the world. You can check this for yourself at WHO. They have poor infant mortality stats which gives rise to reduced longevity stats, but their infant mortality stats are poor because the US counts all stillbirths in these stats. Most countries do not. I see you also cite the "ridiculous profit" myth for health insurers as well. I suggest you take a look at the annual reports of insurers and providers. The only thing ridiculous about their profit margin is how small it is. Which, in turn, is why their lobby groups strongly resist the government muscling in on their already thin profit margin. But you don't have to take my word for it. Chances are Obama will get his healthcare bill through and you can observe the effects for yourself.

MacDoctor : Abortion is Maddening

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 06:39:34 +0000

KP: You misunderstood the post on the morning after pill. I did not say I was in favour of it, just that it was a much better alternative than abortion - medical or surgical. This is true both medically AND ethically. However oral contraceptive or IUCDs are far, far better than the MAP which is expensive, unreliable and has unpleasant side-effects. Technically, the MAP prevents implantation and is not an abortifascient (does not cause an implanted foetus to abort). It is much the same as the pill in this regard. If you are concerned that fertilised blastocysts are being ejected, and you consider that to be abortion, then your only available methods of contraception are mechanical (diaphragms and condoms) If you want a more in depth idea of my views on abortion, I direct you to the very first MacDoctor post Abortion: A personal look. Essentially, I believe that abortion is always bad, but that sometime the alternative is worse. For the record, my practice nurses make sure that abortion requests go to my secular colleagues - unless the woman has not yet made up her mind. I am one of the few doctors who will spend time outlining the alternatives to abortion.