Posts by Rich of Observationz
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one of my personal gripes is with the use of copper in organic farming
Yup, that's a bit wierd. Copper sulphate is a fairly toxic susbtance, to humans and in the environment (though I guess it's mostly harmless in the quantities used). The theory that because something has been used for aeons it must be harmless is somewhat bogus. Humans have had voluntary contact with lead and its compounds for millenia, but until the last century, we had no idea of its chronic toxicity (because we didn't have the science, and because other conditions masked low level lead poisoning).
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Do you think the Japanese have forgiven us yet for Rutherford?
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Yeah, I've noticed a lot of Japanese cars parked on Boulcott St.
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I get the impression the "world" section consists almost entirely of articles selected from syndication and wire services, mostly on whether they fit nicely around the ads.
Often there'll be an article with an obvious NZ angle that they don't address at all, because the Independent/Reuters/New York Times hasn't.
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That whole speech sounds very dodgy to me. Even if you accept the scientific premise, it's the kind of science, like studying racial attributes, that has to be approached very carefully.
I get the impression that cracking down on the Wayward Yoof is the Key government's Big Idea. Drug scares, booze scares, driving scares, closing shops, raiding afterparties - now that Key has no be careful about offending Maori, kids are the new n*****s. So when the government's leading scientist starts coming up with a new reason why young people need to be controlled, a not-very hidden agenda can't be far behind.
Possibly what they're really worried about is that young people are perfectly able to think straight and are losing tolerance for the way the old are fucking up the planet and peoples lives with uncontrolled corporate capitalism.
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One only has to look at the Unionist movement under Carson and the impunity with which the Ulster Volunteers were able to arm themselves to understand what happens when a large section of a settler population loses faith in their government.
Funny, I see that period of history as more an example of a privileged minority resorting to force and insurrection to maintain those privileges, contrary to the will of a democratically elected parliament.
(In brief, the Asquith government passed a Home Rule Act intended to give giving self rule to all of Ireland, having been elected on a mandate to do so. Carson and his cohorts formed an illegal armed group, the original Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Both Carson and the opposition Tory party incited the British Army to refuse lawful orders to enforce the law and suppress Carson's private army. Interestingly, this significant bit of British history has been more or less suppressed (we never heard of it in school). Possibly because it contradicts the narrative of a loyal military and a stable constitution).
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the sovereign integrity of New Zealand is something worth a civil insurrection to protect
Huh?
People have rights, not nations. If Tuhoe wanted to set up their own nation in their rohe, then why not? NZ used to rule Samoa, but stopped.
There's plenty of scope for Maori to take on more control over their affairs, if they want to. (Come to that, there's more scope for other New Zealanders to do the same thing. Why do we need one-size-fits-all government?)
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our CRIs are now full of good
(but not great) scientists who are focussed on
taking ideas from overseas labs and applying
them to New Zealand crops/industries.
Which is fine. But it can’t and won’t create new
industries,why? it works well for China and Japan. Wasn't the LCD a British invention?
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Under FPP the third party tends to be a coalition of the discontented, fourth and fifth parties having almost no chance o
f getting significant representation. My tip is that if the UK ever does get fair votes the lib dems in their current form will disappear. -
With the 5 Shinners abstaining, that's 323 seats needed for a majority.
Lab+Lib+SDLP = 318. So the Scot Nats would get them over. Since the SNP (& Plaid) lose out as a result of FPP, they might be keen.
I still pick the Tories to try and brazen it out in the hope that Labour or Liberals won't vote them down in a confidence motion and force a fresh election.
Also, as a UK expat, we have the *right* to vote but in practice it gets made really hard. You either have to gamble on the postal system getting the ballot papers here and back in less than three weeks, or find a proxy to vote for you. Plus you have to remember to mail registration papers in every year. I'm not sure why we can't vote at the embassy/consulate like Americans can? (I wouldn't be that pissed off if they removed the right to vote from non-residents, but since they allow it, they should organise it properly).