Posts by Bart Janssen
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It's not the chemical resistance that's evil, it's the suicide genes that they've been putting into some of their crops
Just to clear this up. What you have been told isn't true Mathew.
The suicide gene system was developed to try and figure out a method to make certain crops couldn't "escape" and take over the world like triffids. The suicide gene systems have never been put in any released crops
tying farmers into buying seed every year rather than being able to be self-sufficient after the first seed purchase.
Um if you check with the farmers they want to use the seed, even if they have to pay for it they still make more money than they used to.
Oh, that and their habit of suing anyone whose fields end up contaminated with their GE'd crops...
Yeah that wasn't particularly nice. But as someone funded by govt money there is just no way you can produce a big GE crop without big dollars - many more dollars than Mr Key is ever gonna give to us evil genetic engineers.
If you can figure out a way to get money to develop these valuable and environmentally friendly crops without patents then I'd love it. Untill then patents kinda work, bit like cop... oops wrong thread :).
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Stephen
could someone outline the commercial advantages of GE outside the lab?
Lets skip the money because there just is a lot of money in GE crops for everyone who grows them. Most of the farmers growing GE outside the US are small holders who actually do make more money. The data is on the web if you want to look for it.
Instead lets look at the environmental benefit, ya know that stuff Greens are interested in, Roundup resistant soybean and cotton are two major crops made by that evil empire Monsanto. About half the worlds cotton is now GE! The farmers now use evil roundup instead of other less evil but more toxic chemicals (roundup is slightly less toxic than table salt). As a result they expose themselves and their communities to tonnes less of those less evil but more toxic chemicals. Most of those farmers would shoot you if you tried to take GE seed from them because they don't like driving tractors next door to their homes while spraying toxic (but less evil) chemicals.
All that we predicted. What we didn't really realise is that all those farmers stopped tilling. For those city folks who don't understand that bit - farmers drag big blades through the soil and turn the soil over in order to bury the weeds. This involves driving tractors back and forth lots (boring) and also results in loss of topsoil which either blows away in the wind or washes away in the rain. Because the farmers didn't need to kill the weeds they decided not to spend time driving tractors and instead spend it polishing their guns. The amazing thing is that retaining topsoil is really really good for the environment.
Anyway that was really long and if you wanted me to go over all the good things about GE that have occurred in the last 30 years, yes it is that established and still no deaths from evil GE, then I would really threadjack this.
Suffice to say there is tonnes of evidence out there already explaining what GE has done and why it is worthwhile. If you don't want to read it that's fine.
Oh and BTW I am fully aware that The NZ Green party does some excellent stuff. But their policies regarding GE, in particular their absolute objection to allowing any GE work outside the lab (you ever tried to grow a tree in a lab??) is stupid and I would not vote for or support them because of that.
Really sorry for the threadjack and I will stop now and go back to the Green Onion Slave girl thread.
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seek excuses not to engage with the Greens
Um branding an entire technology that I personally work with and I believe can and will do tremendous good for the planet as evil . Based on ... well no evidence at all actually.
Yeah sorry that's just an excuse.
At the risk of threadjacking. The NZ iteration of the Green Party is a bunch of luddites and I will have nothing to do with them. Saving the planet will require the best minds, knowledge and technology that can brought to bear on the problems.
Pity the Green Party don't want to do that.
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one Kedgley
A Kedgley is defined as the number of stale McDonalds hamburgers needed to fill a 4 km long three lane road tunnel.
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especially the Firefly comparison
And yet again my workmates are wondering why I'm giggling.
Chain of command, can I haz one?
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The Green Onion Slave Girl is a Trekkie?!?!?!?!
How were we to know?
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and the appointment's been roundly condemned throughout the media. And for what benefit?
The benefit is Rankin is above the fold and the important shit they are doing is page 3.
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the surprise appointment of a businessman to chief executive and Murray McCully knifing NZ Aid and snaffling its budget for his own purposes.
I saw the NZ Aid story, but missed the jobs for mates appointment in Foreign Affairs.
Ugh this is getting really disgusting. I know governments try and do all the disgusting stuff in the first year so 2 years later at election time people have forgotten but this is ridiculous.
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Technically adverts on TV are not louder it is just that they more frequently hit the "peaks"
So
My boss isn't shouting at me he is just hitting the peaks more frequently
or
The jackhammer outside isn't louder than me banging a nail in with a hammer it just hits the peaks more frequently
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The guy who makes the TV commercials louder than the programmes
LOL
Narrow dynamic range - my arse!