Joshi

joined 1 year ago
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[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Okay, I've been happily ignoring your little idee fixee on LDL aside from one gentle comment but I feel the need to comment here again.

This article is utterly disingenuous and sets up a complete strawman to knock down. It sets out to disprove a notion of cholesterol that was last current decades ago. Right in the first paragraph and throughout the article LDL is referred to as “the” major cause of atherosclerosis which to my knowledge even the Framingham authors wouldn't have been comfortable with, it is however a significant contributing factor.

It is well known that some people with elevated LDL or total cholesterol are at low risk(this is the reason for weak or negative results in whole population studies), atherosclerosis is a complex disease with multifactorial causes, no practising doctor I know thinks it is “the” major cause, or even the most important contributing factor.

That being said it is thoroughly established that statin use in select patients reduces the risk of MI and CVA, especially in those with established atherosclerosis, but also those with other substantial risk factors (high BP, family history, smoking, diabetes etc.). This is totally uncontroversial and the pathogenic mechanisms, while complex, are increasingly well understood.

I have been a doctor for over a decade and I consider myself diligent in keeping up with research, and although the selection of patients for statin therapy is an ongoing and regularly changing area of research on which experts can disagree, the fact that select patients will have substantially lower risk of coronary events due to statin therapy is uncontroversial.

Here is an article written by people who payed attention in stats class and have bothered to make their case with evidence rather than knocking down strawmen

Efficacy and safety of long-term treatment with statins for coronary heart disease: A Bayesian network meta-analysis (2016)

Or for a more succinct and easy to read summary here is the Cochrane conclusion

"Of 1000 people treated with a statin for five years, 18 would avoid a major CVD event which compares well with other treatments used for preventing cardiovascular disease."

Statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 2 points 4 months ago

Ugh, that one and the cook one of everything have been staring at me for years. Maybe I'll try for those on my current playthrough

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 8 points 4 months ago

In the recent WA state election we saw a pretty substantial shift towards greens and independents especially in rural seats away from nationals and libs. This is in part due seachangers and treechangers but interesting none the less.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 13 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

I keep seeing commentary saying that we shouldn't use the ADF for disaster relief.

We have an organisation full of people with exactly the skills and organisation required that we maintain at great expense and barely use. Can someone give me a sensible explanation why it's not a good idea to use them for disaster response.

On a second note I know for a fact that small scale politics and wasteful spending are endemic in volunteer emergency services. I'm not sure what reform is needed but something certainly is. I'm about to re-enter a volunteer fire brigade for the first time in years so I'm sure I'll be full of opinions in a few months.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 1 points 5 months ago

Good work comrade, this is the way to live.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

The budget deficit has been reducing over time under the current government, the man promoting nuclear is Dutton the opposition leader, his plans for nuclear power are being criticized as expensive, he is being portrayed as stupid in promoting nuclear which would reverse the trend of reducing deficits.

It's a bit convoluted and not particularly funny but it does make sense.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 3 points 5 months ago

Modern guns a extremely precisely engineered devices that are incredibly easy to use, for better or worse. I know modern sporting bows are also but it's no contest in my opinion.

I've shot both, bows as a complete amateur and relatively competent with a rifle. There is no question that a modern gun is way easier to pick up as an amateur and hit what you want to hit and I cannot possibly believe there are anything other than extremely niche uses where a bow is superior.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

4 player map can be good to have segments of your farm for different uses. Although I've found it annoying as I found it hard to have a good flow to the morning.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 3 points 5 months ago

Spoiler: The fact that the ALP is Neoliberal is kind of the point of the article.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 2 points 5 months ago

You've laid out the RBA position fairly enough.

Part of the subtext of this piece is an ongoing debate, historically through the second half of the 20th century and into the GFC it seems that countries that adopt excessively tight monetary and fiscal policy have a lower quality of life long term in a way that is difficult to reverse, whereas the long term consequences of a slower, or even labile, return to target levels of inflation is likely nothing.

This is something that professional economists disagree on and I abandoned economics the second I got my bachelor's but the historical evidence is compelling.

[–] Joshi@aussie.zone 6 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Because the interest rate has a direct impact on quality of life. Everything else being equal a lower interest rate is better.

 

Australia’s economy has gone from close to the worst-managed in the OECD, according to data from the IMF, the UBS, the World Bank, the OECD, Trading Economics and elsewhere, to near the top today.

The ABC’s unawareness of these major shifts is an indictment of its inability to monitor critical data.

 
  • Almost 40 per cent of patrons said they would use a lower dose of their drugs after having a conversation with health professionals testing their substances, according to preliminary data.
  • Preliminary data indicated that for more than 70 per cent of patrons, it was the first time they had a judgement-free discussion with a health professional about drug and alcohol use.
 

Something, something, metaphorical resonance, something, something.

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submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by Joshi@aussie.zone to c/australianpolitics@aussie.zone
 

"Having rescued the economy from damage done by the Coalition and stabilising government debt, the ALP is polling well for a second term in office."

  • An interesting take from Koukalas from back in July. Still valid?
 

The rally brought to attention the undemocratic nature of the CFMEU being placed under administration with Esther being just one example of a CFMEU official who was sacked without any due process.

 

The central concern expressed by the Reserve Bank in defending its high-interest rate policy is that expectations of higher inflation may become entrenched, requiring a further, more painful round of contractionary monetary policy in the future.

By contrast, the RBA expresses no concern that the reduction in economic growth induced by its policies will lead to a permanent reduction in living standards.

 

LAST WEEK, News Corp’s newspapers The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier Mail and The Adelaide Advertiser caused controversy by publishing front page “exclusives” and “special reports” alleging that more gas is needed to avoid electricity blackouts in the future.

If readers turned the page and read the fine print, they would learn that this so-called “news” was actually not news. It was an advertorial (a fancy word for an advertisement), paid for by – you guessed it – the fossil fuel industry.

 

LAST WEEK, News Corp’s newspapers The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier Mail and The Adelaide Advertiser caused controversy by publishing front page “exclusives” and “special reports” alleging that more gas is needed to avoid electricity blackouts in the future.

If readers turned the page and read the fine print, they would learn that this so-called “news” was actually not news. It was an advertorial (a fancy word for an advertisement), paid for by – you guessed it – the fossil fuel industry.

 

"Indicating to pass" is insane and needs to stop

 

Lowering the voting age to 16 would improve the health and well-being of young people, the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) has proposed.

 

Successive governments have tried to convince Australians that private health is better than the public system. Australia doesn't agree.

 

Imprisoning children instead of feeding them, pandering to our royal masters and sacrificing our kids in foreign wars are all signs of Australia's distinct system of privilege.

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