Posts by chris

Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    possibly sometimes one gets the explanations one looks for.

    sounds like that to me.

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    before it was realised they were smoking cannabis, and subsequently became seriously ill.

    Personally, I feel the drug is any easy scapegoat. Sure drugs can dishevel your consciousness, memory, mental faculties. And you can choose to subsequently reorganize your consciousness, memories and mental faculties. to allow things to remain in a state of disarray is a personal choice. If you throw a party for the neighbourhood and don't clean up afterwards and then throw another, your house is going to get fucked up, fast.

    I find the mind can be managed in a similar way. The illusion is that drugs cause the derangement. Rather than taking care with recovery times, frequency of use, and even more so just sourcing enough salt grains to self-administer with the wondrous and sometimes paranoid fabrications of the imagination. Along the lines of what 3410 said.

    Categorically dismissing the mind as some pitiful little organ that can get permanently fucked up so easily by chemicals (especially THC ffs) does nothing to empower us into the reality that the mind is a powerful, versatile tool with the capacity to maintain, heal and manage its own functions.

    "Incompetent medics, parlaying to a theocracy of victimhood"

    is what you meant to say Islander. Been there. It's easy to fool oneself into believing that something other than our own lack of responsibility for the degree of control we are willing to take with our own brains and the resultant unhindered manifestations of brain activity, is/are to blame. that's a child's mind. an attractive prospect for many adults.

    Thanks for your long post Ben Wilson, I appreciated that a lot, inspiring.

    Chris, I think you have a problem.

    Well, duh!?

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    not keen on different rules or actions taken against tourists. That just panders to the worse and is undignified.

    I agree. and so in consideration of the largeish tourist pop at any given time, maybe a little fine-tuning...for all.

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    hehe.

    how were the cops to know your group were tourists?

    nz pop. 4m+

    tourists annually 2.5m

    a stab in the dark.

    "Tourism plays a significant role in New Zealand's economy. Tourism contributes $12.8 billion (or 8.9%) to New Zealand’s total GDP and supports nearly 200,000 full-time equivalent jobs (9.9% of the total workforce in New Zealand)"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_zealand

    So why undermine the great work these people do? this is not so much a jihad as i'm incredulous as to how i could spend 7 years in bad old industrial China without so much as a mention of arrest, then upon visiting tourism, ag, wine and fine ale nz for less than 2 weeks be threatened with lock up. An anomaly amongst otherwise perfect hospitality from some wonderful people, it made an impression.

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    Thanks Russell.

    Really? I just never think about walking along the street drinking.

    maybe I'm a hooligan. old habit.

    Chris I could draw you a Pub Crawl

    Or perhaps we could just do one, on intravenous tequila

    I've never been done for lack of a cycle helmet.

    Same, just ze warning!

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    It' worth noting that it's only an offence to "knowingly" breach the ban, and the police are expected to advise people of the law and invite them to tip out their drink. Anything more is cops being dicks. It's not an offence to simply be taking your booze somewhere else to drink it.

    That's a fair swag Russell, but it's largely urban and in my opinion entirely reasonable. Also. and it shames me to say it but generally speaking, from experience, the Auckland police seem to be just that little less into the power trip than their Chch counterparts. More real work to do I guess.

    Part of the Chch ban is within the 4 aves, So if you're coming south from one of the northern corners on foot, that's a fair way to hike before even coming within spitting distance of an on license. A good 15 minute walk without a drink, whilst encouraging people not to drink and drive. That's a lot of suburban streets to police for a pretty benign arrestable offense. I'm trying to look through the fine print of the bylaws now to see if the journey (with open vessels) could be legally made boating down the Avon, but suffering PDF issues.

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    The issues are,

    1. are confrontations and idle threats a successful means of improving the atmos? Based on the flurry of words I heard after the police drove off, no.

    2. Is the law being adhered to? The individual breaking the law being a New Zealand resident, so also no.

    3. Why would the New Zealander not be respecting authority? See 1.

    The bin skull tasted bitter, despite the original contents being a lager.

    (sorry about the reemergence of the pseudonym Mr Taslov, I thought he was dead and buried but this PC had other ideas.)

    But anyway, just a suggestion, WRC on the horizon, and not quite enough space in the cells IMO, but fines could go a ways towards building more prisons.

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    2,000,000+ tourists a year come to New Zealand (many of whom come from places without these kinds of laws). New Zealand is arresting people for carrying a bottle of shandy as opposed to fining people for speeding? Or even just personally threatening tourists from developing and undeveloped countries where the concept of arrest can be pretty fucking serious.

    Welcome to New Zealand, empty your bottle or we'll arrest you.

    World Cup Rugby? Manpower/room in the cells?
    fines no?=income not important?
    signs-didn't see them.
    Basically, Towards a realistic drug policy

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • Speaker: Towards a realistic drug policy,

    You're a bit at cross-purposes with yourself here, Chris.

    Yes, I know. not so black and white. I have no doubt that Auckland streets have an improved atmosphere as a result of the law. "improved atmosphere' is exactly what I imagine they were going for when they introduced the legislation, and that's what I would have liked to experience.

    A friendly wind down the window and "Hey guys, there's a liquor ban here, can you tip your bottle out"

    As opposed to a mini confrontation on an empty street outlined previously.

    If it were simply the kind of back-pocket law you want for cannabis

    As I see it Russell, It's not so much what I want that matters, as opposed to what our country has to offer, it's simply that as a tourist, bringing tourist dollars, I don't want to be threatened with arrest, for a law that is not signposted, if the police must kill the vibe in order to administer a law to improve the atmosphere...then...there's nothing I can really do about it. Of course I will not hesitate to recommend that friends visiting New Zealand avoid Chch at all costs. We're talking about little more than a few grands. But the question is left teetering on the dance floor, What exactly were they going for?

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • OnPoint: Google to Embargo China,

    Couldn't open that link from here George so maybe I'm missing the main jist, but;

    It makes sense from a business standpoint for Google not only to oppose censorship but to work actively against it,

    it would make sense if Google hadn't been censoring at the CCP's behest for the last however many years. Unless Google is a double agent.

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

Last ←Newer Page 1 126 127 128 129 130 Older→ First