It's less that there was a complaint made than that this curious non-retraction was deemed an appropriate response. You don't need to go as far as The Standard to think it's a poor state of affairs.?

i later hit him up about writing music for some other projects (which never really got off the ground.)

strangely, and?

Well, Russell, I know there's at least one APN journalist who isn't feeling particularly impressed with Cullen or Andrew Little either. As Audrey Young could testify :), no journalist or editor much likes being called a partisan whore by politicians and their proxies.

I quite enjoyed the blogfight with Colin?

I quite enjoyed the blogfight with Colin Espiner...

Meh... like most blogfights (and we've had a few back in the day), it was more emtertaining (like watching a family brawl at Christmas lunch while trying to keep the spittle and blood out of your pav) than illuminating.

Talking about Mediawatch,?

"nimple support" from Clark?

Was that what you meant to say? It's a new word on me, but I see its in the urban dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nimple&defid=1347141

I suppose metaphorically it could be said to be a pimple which appears on the nose at the wrong time...at a stretch.

A?

The only exception to this seems to be in the area of mental health, which I get the impression is treated as an absolute Cinderella.

I absolutely agree with this.

The sad fact is that there is no PR juice in obtaining money for nutbars, who are a) stigmatised and?

- it seems to me that a system with surplus resources is likely to have redundant checks that catch mistakes, whereas in a stretched, under-resourced system, every participant has to get it right every time.

Under resourcing maybe be a factor but another is the difficulty in making decisions about?

I apologise for any cerebra-vascular outrage caused by putting Helen Clark's nipple into your head. Can't you tell I want to be a Herald sub when I grow up. :)

Tom:

It might be kind of interesting if we had something equivalent to [[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/thepubliceditor/index.htmll|Clark Hoyt, who is "Public Editor'?

I just think we routinely expect our health professionals to win V.C's.

indeed. the key difference between finn and the friend 'greg' i refer to above is that greg got the right kind of help when he needed it most.

and there was more to that help than blind courage?

That line in the Stuff article:

By 7.30 that night, Mr Higgins again grew agitated. His girlfriend tried to physically restrain him, hugging him?

That line in the Stuff article:

I'm still at the 'angry' stage. The Stuff article RB linked to leaves me infuriated, and to think it's not the first time it's happened is even more appalling.

And FFS, someone please tell me that ING ad is not running on that page because?

The only exception to this seems to be in the area of mental health, which I get the impression is treated as an absolute Cinderella.

There was a time in the 90s when it seemed like every year we had a new report by some committee or other on our?

the Ministry of Justice had an outstanding-fines outreach [at Pasifica]

I hope they also do one at Grey Lynn Festival and Thorndon Fair.

(Very sad about Finn. I never met him, but people I know did, as happens in a small city).

The paper has refused to report on the story in its own pages, effectively censoring itself and in turn denying one million plus New Zealanders who have the Herald as their main paper the chance to decide for themselves on the importance or otherwise of this issue.

Tom S -?

So much emphasis is placed on the consumer having to agree that they need help before it could be provided.

It may be that the terrible things that happened in some of our institutions in the middle of the 20th century have led to a reaction that is too far?

It's one hell of a nasty Catch-22, and one I really doubt there's any political or fiscal quick fix.

I'm not sure about 'quick fix'.

However if my memory is correct, and there were umpteen reports by vaguely competent bodies saying 'this needs more money', then I think it's fair?

It used to be so much easier: we'd just lock people up, then lock 'em up again if they got a funny look in their eyes. And we'd?

It is usual to feel helpless and angry when we hear about such events, and frustrated that there is nothing we can do to help.

But there IS something that well people can do to?

Dear Mr Simons,

I am writing to express the concern of the Herald Journalists Chapel over the "clarification" published in yesterday's Bay Report newspaper.

We understand that the item, regarding comments attributed to John?

the Herald journalists' chapel

With weekly services?

That's the traditional term for a union grouping at a newspaper.

Though I thought the traditional chapel for the NZ HErald staff was actually the SHakespeare...

the Herald, which has previously carefully guarded its political independence

No easy fixs to this sort of thing when there has to be balance between personal freedom and caring for those who are in no position to?

The story about you hugging Finn to try to save him breaks my heart, Sophie. I hope you can carry?

Needless to say there are some probs which go further up the management chain but I think my waffle should end here.

I sheer the Anger. Anger being natures way of saying something's happening that shouldn't be happening.

Thank you for posting, Sophie. It's been a terrible tragedy.

Young, creative... damn. His posts were always so lucid and warm. I never met him either, but I'm still shocked by the?

My condolences to Finn's partner and family too. What can I say but repeat what others have said? I suppose that the repetition si an affirmation of community...

I've been thinking about this: in this case, the medium and the community are the same thing. I think it gives a?

If kids do this on MySpace or Bebo, the news media starts shrieking about internet suicide cults. But we're grown up, so it's alright.

I was wondering how I'd feel if the media picked up on PA/S and our comments started appearing in newspapers. I kinda finished up feeling that?

if it meant they were mentally replenished enough to give a shit about their work again.

The argument about how many resources we can chuck at a debatably small section?

Without knowing anything about this specific situation, other than what has been disclosed here and in the paper, while I can easily summon plenty of anger at any systemic failures in our health system that lead?

"If kids do this on MySpace or Bebo, the news media starts shrieking about internet suicide cults. But we're grown up, so it's alright."

Yeah this struck me for an hour or two yesterday.

How unfair Finns passing is and made more so if grief or condolenses?

I've been thinking about this: in this case, the medium and the community are the same thing

same. it's strange how the medium conveys a sense of closeness you normally only get in direct conversation. i also have this tendency to feel closer to bloggers i meet in the RW?

As one married to a mental health professional (NOT in Wellington), I know that it is a draining and thankless job.
One of the few compensations she gets is the opportunity to occasionally meet more interesting, stimulating and funny people than those on this side of madness.
I?

I've had both good and bad experiences with the mental health workers.

that's the nature of the internet i guess. the familiarity it generates, and the ability of people like sophie to lift us out of the mire of at times meaningless conversation into the rarified air of genuine openness.

Discussing mental illness and suicide is definitely meaningful. Im willing to go?

This is more Finn's medium than mine but I have really appreciated the messages left about him.I would however like to present a fuller picture of Finn's death and the part NZ mental health services played in it.

So what can i say about Finn?

It makes me screamingly angry.

Che has a very angry post about it.

And I think Southland may still run the claim payment system for the whole country.