Posts by Lilith __
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This is fucking scary. Here in Canterbury we’ve been treated to a preview of the nominal democracy y’all will be getting.
Our regional council was placed under statutory management in 2010, because it did not simply rubberstamp massive new irrigation projects. The dry Canterbury Plains, perfect for arable farming, are being turned over to dairying, which steals massive amounts of water and pollutes the land and drinking water. EColi contamination in the public water supply in mid-Canterbury is already common.
Our Parliament this year approved the continued suspension of regional elections , meaning we may get an election in 2016, unless a further suspension of our voting rights is made.Also in 2010, following the September Quake, we got a law that put Gerry Brownlee in charge of our “Earthquake Response and Recovery”, giving him absurdly wide-ranging powers to override existing laws. That law was replaced after the February 2011 earthquake with the CERA Act, which extended “emergency” powers for another five years. While we technically still have City Council elections, any decision they make can be overriden by CERA at will. Which is what happened with the CCC’s Draft Plan for our new central city, produced after extensive consultation and over 100,000 public submissions. The Council Plan was thrown out by CERA, who produced their own Plan, and they are now compulsorily acquiring properties for it to be built. They also require that Christchurch residents pay for the new plan, and that the City Council sell our assets if required to raise money. They are forcing us to pay for new facilities that we don’t want, and have had no input into.
Then there are the school closures, rushed through while Chch people are exhausted and half-crazy in the aftermath of 4 major disasters. Already-devastated communities are being torn apart at the whim of the Education Department, on trumped-up excuses, in the face of all advice, and against the wellbeing of the children.
It’s happening here, now. This government has no respect for democratic rights and processes. The very least we can do is kick up a mighty stink.
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Capture: Autumn lite, in reply to Jos,
We have pest removal
I found hanging a kiwifruit-bag of lard in a tree brought the silvereyes to the garden , and they stayed to eat all the tasty aphids! Win/win!
Loving all the beautiful pictures. :-)
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Tweet just in:
Chris Finlayson @chrisfinlayson 2m
Govt kept the Hobbit in NZ, saving hundreds of creative jobs – and the future of the industry here – from union wreckers #goldenage -
If an artist were to say, "This is a golden age for the arts", I would listen.
But a politician? And one who doesn't care for some of our most revered painters?
Finlayson follows in the fine NZ tradition of treating art as a marginal and unimportant activity, pursued by those dedicated enough to do it without reward or recognition.
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Capture: Autumn lite, in reply to JacksonP,
A rosemary by any other name would smell as sweet
Parsley, sage, lavender, and thyme...
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May be worth noting that New York gets destroyed all the time in Hollywood movies. ("California's revenge"!) If there's an imagined disaster, it's almost certain to be imagined there. It's almost a genre of its own.
So for those of us not in or near NY at the time of the 2001 attacks, the TV footage was horrifying, but also had a surreal quality. We'd almost seen it before.
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Personally I find the WTC Halloween-costumes shocking, but isn't that the whole point of Halloween? Contemporary fears are less to do with witches and ghouls, and more to do with guns and bombs.
I think there'll always be humour and excitement derived from taboo-breaking. Yes, it's grotesque and distasteful, but there are always going to be people who get a thrill from causing an emotional reaction. Trolling is not confined to the internet.
Also, I think of the kids who love the fake knives that retract on impact, creating the illusion of stabbing. And the axe-in-the-head headbands. Is laughing at scary things liberating? Is making a lego model or a cake of the WTC attack somehow taming the horror, making it less terrifying?
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Slanting light can be dramatic.
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Heathcote River after Monday's rain. Mud, oil, and...yeah, let's just call it mud.
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After yesterday’s rain, today was bright and cold, and the streets are choked with leaves.
