Another study states the obvious... but nothing will change

"Our study [also] indicates that children and adolescents who may face the greatest risks of vitamin and mineral deficiency are the least likely to be taking supplements," said Ulfat Shaikh, lead study author, assistant professor of pediatrics at the UC Davis School of Medicine and a clinician at UC Davis Children's Hospital.

And...

"The study findings seem to bear out the hypothesis that cost is a barrier to children getting vitamins. Among households considered below the poverty level, 22 percent of children used vitamins. The number jumped to 43 percent among those not considered poor. Among households not enrolled in the federal Food Stamp Program, 38 percent of children used vitamins. But in households using food stamps, vitamin use was around 18 percent. Children in 36 percent of households where there is no hunger use vitamins; only 15 percent use vitamins in households where there is "food insecurity and hunger.""

U.S. families living in poverty are less likely to be able to provide adequate nutrition for their children or to supplement their diets with vitamins to compensate... I'm guessing the situation is probably similar here... so, how do we change it?

The Morgue's blog anti-massacree movement and all you gotta do to join is...

... post your letter telling John Key not to be a Rodney today!

Dear Mr Key,

As a scientist at an agricultural research institute, I am concerned that your coalition agreement with ACT commits you to a potentially lengthy Select Committee process before the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) can be implemented. This delay in implementing the ETS may cause us to fall further behind our global trading partners in managing our greenhouse gas emissions. It damages the international credibility of New Zealand’s “clean green” branding strategy at a time when our global markets are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues.

Although in general I would support a rigorous review of the relevant science when setting government policy, in the case of the ETS this work has already been done so recently that revisiting the evidence for climate change is an embarrassment. Since New Zealand has already committed to reducing our emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, I feel that this Select Committee should be limited to examining ways of reducing emissions and ensuring that the majority of compliance costs are paid by the polluters and not by taxpayers. Since climate change is such an important issue, I hope that the select committee will be large enough to allow representation from all parties.

I know that like most New Zealanders you value our unique natural environment and our international reputation, and I hope you will take these into account when deciding on your government’s response to climate change.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr [Bunny]

Study shows that single mothers are not intrinsically worse parents than mothers who live with their children's partner

I'm probably being over-sensitive, but I find the premises behind studies like this one slightly insulting. In this case, however, the researchers in this study obviously avoided blind prejudice against single parents and found that, although working single mothers "on average, spend between three and five hours less time per week on child care than married mothers"... "The reduced amount of time single mothers spend on child care are accounted for by differences in available resources – type and hours of employment, education, maternal age, age of children. When these factors are statistically controlled, the differences disappear." I guess this confirms what single parents and our families, friends and colleagues already knew... that what we give up most when we parent alone, is not time spent with our kids... we prioritise that... but time to ourselves, sleep and self-care, and that extra mile at work. The conclusion of the study was that "public policy needs to pay greater attention to the resources and educational opportunities for mothers, regardless of their marital status." And I really can't argue with that!!

I made Labour win the election twice

Okay… so this is not sophisticated humour... but boy was it therapeutic bopping that smug hypocritical smile!