Posts by George Darroch
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And there is harrassment of the different- and, o George? I know another asexual who is also in the Armed forces – but she is female-
... armed forces around the world are set up in ways that deliberately intensify certain social dynamics. Men don't find a aggression completely unnatural, but they have to be trained to kill. A deep assumption of male heteronormativity underpins and reinforces those dynamics. Shifting from that is necessarily disruptive, and while it has been done in limited ways, it has been others (women, gay men, invisible asexuals) who've had to conform to it; their acceptance is based on their ability to fit these pre-existing standards.
There's a fair bit out there, but I found this particularly useful. The role of gender in war is certainly not arbitrary. http://books.google.tl/books/about/War_and_Gender.html?id=KXs_LS5g57MC&redir_esc=y
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Hard News: A good soldier dies, in reply to Bob Williams,
Hi Bob, welcome to the PAS hivemind.
Militaries are deliberately strange environments, as they have to be able to send men to do unusual and awful things. That works for certain purposes, but when it exacts costs on men they tend to be severe.
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They usually make sensible recommendations. Where there is a identifiable risk and a clear policy response that would reduce or eliminate this risk, they make a statement to that effect. Eric Crampton has helpfully compiled a list (for the purpose of saying saving lives is too burdensome).
They're not experts on everything; their focus on reducing deaths means we get the occasional not-so-sensible one, these stand out. It's their job to make recommendations, but decisions about implementing these is the responsibility of the relevant agencies.
As for whether they are implemented? That's not clear.
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Hard News: A good soldier dies, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Fortunately, we don’t really.
The Ministry of Justice seem to think they do, stating on their website
A coroner speaks for the dead to protect the living.
and
The role of the Coroner is to establish when, where, how and why the death happened, and also to work out whether anything can be done differently that might stop similar deaths in the future. If so, they make recommendations.
I've also been labouring under this understanding. It's unlikely we're both wrong.
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I think he’s now at the same stage as, say, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen. A formidable reputation based on a long run of classics in his first 10 years or so, but now well into being patchy, quality-wise. There’ll be a good album or two, then a clunker.
Nothing of his has been to my taste since Abattoir, so I can't speak with certainty, but I've found his musical theatrics to somewhat underwhelming.
I like the new Bowie single. It'll be on repeat for a while.
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It's up there with the largest killers in NZ, and for those under 60 is the leading cause of death. These graphs are illustrative (Thanks to Mike Dickison and Siouxie Wiles). As a cause of years of potential life lost (YPLL), it's almost certainly at or near the top.
I don't generally take views on the judiciary, but I do hold the general principle that they must be able to apply their role without significant prejudice, and act in a public rather than private role. Being a coroner cannot be an easy job, and I appreciate anyone who caries out its duties. But given the place of alcohol in our society and its role in many deaths, I wonder if someone who might strong religious beliefs about alcohol, homosexuality, and other 'sins' has the deftness required to understand and deal with many of the cases that come their way. If their beliefs were to interfere with their carrying out their function, that would be of severe impact - particularly as we rely on coroners to understand deaths and thus prevent future ones.
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And yet, as long as anything but NORML are the face of reform, the conversation will stall. I imagine it will take a Gareth Morgan style figure to charge a public debate; someone squarely from middle-and-respected New Zealand.
(Not that Morgan can assume that mantle comfortably any time soon, he's said too much.)
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"It is up to ordinary citizens to declare a truce in this unwinnable war.", an opinion piece in the journal The Lancet declares, reviewing a recent film.
It's easy to see the insanity of the United States and make loaded assumptions that the war being fought there isn't the same one experienced back home. It is (though we have few guns, thankfully - violence is felt less severely), and the impacts on communities are large. While asking what Obama can do is interesting, it's more worth our time to examine under what circumstances a Key or [insert Labour leader here] would reshape our environment.
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Michael Laws is a professional moron – not an MP.
Michael Laws is a professional moron - and former NZ First MP. A non-moronic NZ First MP is known as an oxymoron.
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Living directly above Terra Australis , I have quite regular experiences with uniformed airport officers.
While there's a lot of theatre, to be sure, I don't really mind it. I had eight flights around the continent in January (including Brisbane twice). Five of them involved being waved for bomb screening. Like Tracey, it happens every time I'm in Canberra. I'm quite happy that lighters are frequently confiscated - fire on a plane is a very serious issue, and I'd rather not share my travel with something that facilitates it (accidentally or deliberately).
The only thing I really mind is not being able to carry safety razors with me on the plane. I don't bring them to the airport - there isn't any point - but the lack of availability of razors for purchase in airport shops at the end is a perennial issue. By the time you've got where you wanted to go, wandering around finding a supermarket or dairy isn't usually top of your to-do list.