Latest news with #Metzler
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Petition on display as minister arrives
A petition calling for the health system to be fixed has arrived in Gore. The Buller Declaration is a petition started in September last year following the closure of the Buller regional hospital on the West Coast. The petition states healthcare is in a state of crisis and requires intervention by the government as well as the allocation of more resources for staffing issues. It also states the rural, Māori and poorer populations are being further victimised by this crisis, and the government must meet its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. Already the petition has received thousands of signatures, with more to come as it sits in the foyer of Gore Health until the end of the month. Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler said there was a tremendous amount of pressure being put on hospitals, especially in the South, due to a medical downturn. "General practices are like the canary in the coal mine. When they're not running or resourced well, you see the flow-on effect in EDs [emergency departments]. "Our little rural ED has gone from 6000 visits in 2021/22, to a 45% increase to over 10,000 visits this financial year. This is not sustainable," he said. Waiting lists are only growing longer, Mr Metzler said, it was becoming nearly impossible to access specialists in Southland. Mr Metzler said in a region with such strong economic drive there needed to be some reciprocity for the health sector down South. "We are a major food basket for this country and I think we're really getting short changed on the healthcare front, despite the tax dollars we contribute." Mr Metzler was hoping to raise awareness of the issue and also the petition. He was optimistic it would get a lot of support from the community. • Yesterday, after The Ensign 's deadline, Gore Health was due to host Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey. Earlier in the week, Mr Metzler said the meeting would also also be a great chance to promote what a rural hospital could be. "Gore has a lot to showcase and celebrate as a community-owned, integrated health facility. It's quite unique and I think we should be proud. "But it's also an opportunity to highlight some of the rural inequity of being a trust-owned hospital." Mr Metzler said as a trust-owned hospital, funding from Health New Zealand was a drop in the bucket compared to other facilities.
Otago Daily Times
06-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Health petition arrives, minister's visit looms
"General practices are like the canary in the coal mine. When they're not running or resourced well, you see the flow-on effect in EDs" — Karl Metzler. Photo: Linda Robertson Gore Health will be hosting quite a pairing this week, a petition calling the state of healthcare an emergency and the associate health minister. The Buller Declaration is a petition started in September last year following the closure of the Buller regional hospital on the West Coast. The petition states healthcare is in a state of crisis and requires intervention by the government as well as the allocation of more resources for staffing issues. It also states the rural, Māori and poorer populations are being further victimised by this crisis, and the government must meet its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. Already the petition has received thousands of signatures, with more to come as it sits in the foyer of Gore Health until the end of the month. Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler said there was a tremendous amount of pressure being put on hospitals, especially down South, due to a medical downturn. "General practices are like the canary in the coal mine. When they're not running or resourced well, you see the flow-on effect in EDs [emergency departments]. "Our little rural ED has gone from 6000 visits in 2021/22, to a 45% increase to over 10,000 visits this financial year. This is not sustainable," he said. Waiting lists are only growing longer, Mr Metzler said, it was becoming nearly impossible to access specialists in Southland. Mr Metzler said in a region with such strong economic drive there needed to be some reciprocity for the health sector down South. "We are a major food basket for this country and I think we're really getting short changed on the healthcare front, despite the tax dollars we contribute." Mr Metzler was hoping to raise awareness of the issue and also the petition. He was optimistic it would get a lot of support from the community. Tomorrow, Gore Health will be hosting Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey, who is responsible for mental and rural health. Mr Metzler said although he will be discussing issues with the minister, it would also be a great chance to promote what a rural hospital can be. "Gore has a lot to showcase and celebrate as a community-owned, integrated health facility. It's quite unique and I think we should be proud. "But it's also an opportunity to highlight some of the rural inequity of being a trust-owned hospital." Mr Metzler said as a trust-owned hospital, funding from Health New Zealand was a drop in the bucket compared to other facilities.
The Star
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Stocks edge up, dollar steady as ceasefire buoys confidence
TOKYO: Stocks ticked higher and crude oil held not far from multi-week lows on Wednesday, as investors took a ceasefire between Israel and Iran as a green light to head back into riskier assets and cast aside immediate worries about an energy shock. The dollar languished close to an almost four-year low versus the euro, with two-year U.S. Treasury yields sagging to 1-1/2-month troughs as lower oil prices reduced the risk to bonds from an inflation spike. The shaky truce has so far held, although Israel says it will respond forcefully to Iranian missile strikes that came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an end to the hostilities. In addition, U.S. airstrikes did not destroy Iran's nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months, according to a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment, contradicting Trump's earlier comments that Iran's nuclear programme had been "obliterated". Europe's Stoxx 600 index edged up 0.2% in early trade, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were flat. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.3% and mainland Chinese blue chips gained 1.44%, closing at their highest level since March 20. An MSCI index of global stocks held steady after pushing to a record high overnight. "If the still tense situation in the Middle East does indeed continue to calm down, the stock markets could have a pleasant July ahead of them, in line with their typical seasonal pattern," analysts at Frankfurt-based Metzler said. "This would result in new all-time highs in the U.S., possibly further fuelled by renewed expectations of interest rate cuts by the Fed." A series of U.S. macroeconomic data released overnight including on consumer confidence showed possibly weaker than expected economic growth in the world's largest oil consumer, bolstering expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Brent crude rose 2% to $68.43 per barrel, bouncing a bit following a plunge of as much as $14.58 over the previous two sessions. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up as much to trade at $65.60 per barrel. "While concerns regarding Middle Eastern supply have diminished for now, they have not entirely disappeared, and there remains a stronger demand for immediate supply," analysts at ING wrote in a note to clients. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield was at its lowest since May 8 at 3.7848%. The euro slipped 0.1% to $1.1594, still close to the overnight high of $1.1641, a level not seen since October 2021, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against six major counterparts, was only slightly higher at 98.079. Gold rose marginally to about $3,328 per ounce. Aside from geopolitics, U.S. monetary policy continues to dominate investor concerns. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that higher tariffs could begin raising inflation this summer, a period that will be key to the U.S. central bank considering possible rate cuts. Markets continue to price in a roughly 19% chance that the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point in July, according to the CME FedWatch tool. - Reuters
Middle East Eye
16-06-2025
- Health
- Middle East Eye
Meet the American military veterans fasting for Gaza
Joy Metzler was a second lieutenant in the US Air Force when Aaron Bushnell self-immolated in protest against the US's role in Israel's war on Gaza. The 23-year-old Metzler was so moved by Bushnell's sacrifice in February 2024 that she began researching Palestine. Horrified by Israel's occupation and US backing for what international human rights groups, experts and several countries now qualify as an act of genocide in Gaza, she became a conscientious objector to the war, choosing to leave the air force in August 2024. Her application to be excused from the air force was approved in April 2025. With death and destruction continuing to envelope Gaza through relentless bombardment and an aid blockade triggering starvation, Metzler continued to organise and look for new ways to advocate for an end to the war. So when Veterans for Peace and Friends of Sabeel North America decided to launch a fast for Gaza outside the US Mission at the United Nations in New York City on 22 May, Metzler immediately got involved. She told Middle East Eye that fasting felt like the "next logical step" but really "a moral obligation to be standing up against the human rights violations tantamount to a genocide, if not actually a genocide happening in Gaza". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Metzler joins 745 people, including three veterans from the Vietnam War, who have been fasting for the past 20 days across the US, in protest against the ongoing war in Gaza, where over 55,000 Palestinians have been killed. Veterans have either restricted their diet to 250 calories per day, less than a can of fava beans, in line with what Oxfam described in April as the abysmal average daily food intake of Palestinians in Gaza due to the military siege on the enclave. Others who have joined the fast have followed the rules of the Islamic month of Ramadan, in which proponents steer clear of both food and water from dawn to dusk. They say they are calling for the resumption of humanitarian aid under the authority of the United Nations, and for the US to halt its arms sales to Israel. Joy Metzler with a poster showing Palestinian children who have been killed in Israel's war on Gaza (Veterans for Peace/Supplied) Advocacy and outreach With a core team of around seven standing outside the US Mission to the UN in New York City for the past 20 days, Veterans for Peace, which was founded in 1985 in response to the global nuclear arms race and US military interventions in Central America, have also been conducting outreach with several governments stationed at the UN. Last week, a team from the group met with the Danish envoy to urge them to exert pressure on Maersk, the Danish shipping and logistics company that ships military cargo to Israel. Protesters at NYC vigil hope Aaron Bushnell's death inspires moral reckoning on Gaza Read More » Though they weren't able to convince the Danes to alter course on Maersk, organisers say that being at the UN has provided an opportunity to make envoys feel at the very least uncomfortable. Phil Tottenham, a Marine Corps veteran and a member of Veterans for Peace, told MEE he regularly sent updates to comrades around the world who were also fasting - in Hong Kong, Ireland and Germany, among other places - about the latest developments in New York as well as their interactions with ambassadors around the UN. It helped build a sense of community and shared responsibility. "I am here fasting because it was a thought that occurred to me about wanting to do something more. "Prior to Aaron Bush self-immolating, I had had the thought of that, but didn't have the courage to go through the pain of what he went through. "And so that's why I'm here fasting in New York City," Tottenham, 47, said. Tottenham added that as the descendant of a colonial settler who participated in the ethnic cleansing of indigenous people in Tejos and Mexico, it was a personal matter to him to stand up for the Palestinian people. "I couldn't stand by and not learn from history and have another genocide of an indigenous people occur on my watch as a descendant of a white settler colonist," he added. Veterans for Peace gather outside the United Nations to pressure the US government to end its role in Israel's war on Gaza (Veterans for Gaza/Supplied) Remembering Palestinians Metzler admits that the last 20 days have not been easy. But it has kept her razor sharp in remembering the plight of the Palestinians. "We've talked a bit about how we've been feeling on 250 calories, but the reality is, we get to choose what fits in that 250 calories. We get to have fresh water, we get to have fresh vegetables, fresh food," Metlzer told MEE. Has Israel manufactured a famine in Gaza? Read More » "And the other thing is that 250 calories is an average, which means that some people aren't even getting that. There are multiple stories of people who haven't been able to eat anything for a couple of days." The veterans' effort to conduct a mass fast is part of a global outpouring of solidarity for Palestinians. 'Watching hundreds of people maimed, burned, and killed every day just tears at my insides - too much like when I nursed hundreds of wounded from our war in Vietnam," Mike Ferner, former national director of Veterans For Peace, said when the fast was launched in late May. "Our taxes help Israel provide full health care to all its citizens while millions of Americans go without it, and we spend billions killing people. This madness will only stop when enough Americans demand it stops," Ferner added. Last week, a flotilla filled with activists, including Greta Thunberg, carrying aid to Gaza, was intercepted by Israeli forces. Members of the crew were held for hours in an Israeli prison, and reportedly subjected to abuse before they were deported. This week, thousands of people from around the world have descended on Cairo to embark on the Global March to Gaza. Several reports indicate that the Egyptian authorities have been deporting activists before they could make their way to el-Arish, where the event was scheduled to begin on Thursday. "I really think being outside the UN, and the US mission to the UN has been, has been a great, great choice for this fast and you know, we're not even halfway through yet, so even though we're tired, we're looking forward to seeing what else can come out of this, Meltzer added.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Sirens' creator Molly Smith Metzler on watching Julianne Moore, Meghann Fahy and Milly Alcock bring her characters to life: ‘it was really pinch me'
In Netflix's limited series Sirens, creator Molly Smith Metzler describes seeing stars Julianne Moore, Meghann Fahy, and Milly Alcock bring to life characters she originally wrote in a play more than 15 years ago — which the show is adapted from — as both 'dreamy' and 'incredible.' 'These characters have been with me for over a decade,' Metzler says. 'To show up on set and have them played by these three women — I mean, it was really pinch me.' More from GoldDerby Inside 'The Daily Show': The team behind the satirical news series on politics, puppies, punchlines - and staying sane Ripped from the headlines: How the showrunners of 'Monsters,' 'Apple Cider Vinegar' and 'Good American Family' mined truth for drama Dakota Fanning said 'yes' to 'The Perfect Couple' the moment she heard Nicole Kidman was involved, without knowing anything else about the show The show reimagines the mythology of sirens — those dangerously seductive women from Greek lore — not as villains but as complex individuals with stories of their own. Metzler was inspired in part by Margaret Atwood's poem Siren Song, which challenges traditional notions of female monstrosity. 'Why are they cast as monsters, and why do we cast women as monsters so easily?' she asks. 'Especially the beautiful ones.' That question becomes a central theme in Sirens, a show that leans into uncomfortable gray areas, especially around class and identity. 'Are you monstrous for trying to change your class and where you come from?' Metzler asks. 'Is ambition a monster?' Originally a 90-minute stage play, the adaptation into a miniseries allowed Metzler to explore these questions in new and layered ways. 'The play is in real time and in one room. It tells a tight story,' she explains. 'With the show, we got to blow that up — bigger themes, a larger cast, and much more space to play.' Among the most striking additions is the setting — a palatial home perched on a cliff in North Fork, Long Island. 'That staircase you see? It's real,' Metzler confirms. 'The whole house helped us convey how exclusive this world is.' Cr. Macall Polay/Netflix © 2025 The show's visual opulence — sumptuous parties, towering architecture, and pastel-drenched wardrobes — was carefully constructed to evoke the feeling of being both invited in and simultaneously shut out. That cultish feeling also plays out in the characters — especially Michaela, played by Moore. Her role, Metzler explains, could have easily gone too big or become caricatured, but Moore's precision and gravitas grounded her. 'Julie sets the tone of the work environment,' Metzler says. 'She's so professional, so generous, and the most prepared actor I've ever worked with. Michaela works because Julie played her.' As for the literal sirens of the show — the birds of prey featured onscreen — Metzler admits they were 'terrifying,' but that they seemed to bond deeply with Moore. 'They were hypnotized by her. We were all terrified, but they were in love with her.' Kevin Bacon also joined the cast in a role that didn't exist in the original play. Metzler describes his character Peter as 'the guy next door' who's friendly with the staff and drinks beer from a can. 'Kevin brought so much humanity to the role. It was a joy to write for him,' she says. One surprising and personal touch that viewers might miss? The female vocals in the score are performed by Fahey. 'She's got this stunning Broadway voice,' Metzler reveals. 'It's Devon's voice you're hearing. That made the whole thing feel more intimate, more personal.' Despite early awards buzz, Metzler is cautious about reading too much into the hype. 'I try to just appreciate any attention and take the opportunity to sing the praises of this team. If the show's good, it's because of them.' Best of GoldDerby Leslie Bibb breaks down her aha moments filming 'The White Lotus': 'Kate suddenly got jealous' 'Agatha All Along' star Ali Ahn: Getting Patti LuPone's approval while singing was 'like I had died and gone to heaven' Inside 'The Daily Show': The team behind the satirical news series on politics, puppies, punchlines — and staying sane Click here to read the full article.
