Posts by George Darroch
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About six weeks ago I sat in on a council committee meeting, where they were considering a Local Approved Products Policy. They were scared, confused, and desperate for information about the safety and effects of these products.
There’s a lot of blame to be shared around for this failure, but the brakes could have been put on a runaway train of fear and anxiety at many points. But they weren’t, and so it got to the point where it was causing serious political damage to the government. What happened then was inevitable.
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Great post Emma. How also to deal with sexual acts and situations that might involve more than one other person? How to deal with people using electrons to stimulate each other over a long distance? It's an expansive concept.
I think the problem is that we're still getting used to contraception. For millions of years, things that made humans and pre-humans feel like they've had sex had a pretty high chance of creating a pregnancy and thus new human. Pleasure wasn't guaranteed to give you a child, but that was its biological purpose.
We've only had cheap and reliable contraceptives for decades - within the lifetime of people living on this earth. So we're still figuring out how to think and deal with things that make us feel really good (when done right). That enables and requires significant social reconfiguration: I don't think it's an exaggeration to state that the contraceptive pill made possible gay marriage.
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taking all products with interim approval off the market.
Does this mean that products which have not been submitted for interim approval (and which are not part of previously banned categories) will no longer be illegal? The scope of the new law will be crucial.
they and their parties were both opposed to the decriminalisation of cabbanis.
Sounds dangerous. Keep it illegal. ETA: I see the problem has been fixed – it was fun while it lasted.
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Hard News: Sorting out our thinking on drugs, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Seize on suspicion, test.
The time, effort, and cost required to do this are considerable. Which means it is likely that only those who are in possession of quantities for supply, or who have other already illegal drugs, would be tested and then charged.
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It’s interesting that Dunne is the only one from the government fronting this.
It will be to keep distance on this between the Government and the issue.
It occurs to me that if you’re an actual illegal drug dealer selling marijuana and/or other drugs, then you’re going to see a surge in custom in about a month.
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That remix is pretty good. I'm still amazed at the talent that's flying out from that young woman, and the response she's getting from the world.
i just need ..
time to get back to full gollum girl fitness before i go out playing shows again -
I’m happy for Naked & Famous and all but God help me they’re representative of a dull strand of indie pop. You expect NZ to succeed with something a little off-kilter, like… er… Lorde, but those kids are nothing more than a testament to professionalism.
Rather bland, eh? I'd like a bit more bite and spice.
Meanwhile, Pitchfork lay down a long and comprehensive read on the implications of streaming for music. It's huge.
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Basically, what Russell said. James is a straight shooter, in my experience. Chen Palmer also work for *everyone*. They use their knowledge of government against Peter Dunne's ministries on a regular basis. This, again, is well known to any person in the legal and health sectors and any media organisation that employs credible researchers.
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But we also need some help, in particular from the MSM. Because as much as we as scientist are really trying to make sense to our audiences, if the MSM insists on playing silly buggers with disinformation then there is very little we can do to counteract that.
This is one of the reasons I believe that it is absolutely essential that we have a publicly funded broadcaster with a mandate to inform and educate. The ABC's Catalyst is only an hour a week, but it means that a very large part of the population have access to scientific thinking, and a smaller section of the population are informed by Australian and international research on a given issue. So when drought or concussion or whatever issue of interest is discussed in public, a good number of people have at least an inkling of facts and the ways in which an issue is considered. My own anecdotal experience is that this matters.
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Simon Lamb's film Thin Ice is an excellent film in its own right, but it is also a clear explanation of the work and value of scientists. I'd recommend it.
My discouragement at the lack of a framework that enables scientists is also real, but it isn't from disappointment. I've been pleasantly surprised because I thought things would be significantly worse at this point in time.