Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: That Buzzing Sound

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  • Paul Campbell,

    I believe beer and peanuts are also traditional - don't forget to offer some to the guys in the hard hats

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • James Butler,

    you've got every chance of moderating any policy with which you have an issue

    That's what I hear, but I'm yet to work out how without leaving my keyboard. Coming from an IT background what I want is a web FAQ or wiki page saying "How to moderate any policy with which you have an issue, using perl".

    Auckland • Since Jan 2009 • 856 posts Report Reply

  • Tim Michie,

    NZTA announces preferred option for Western Ring Route completion.

    I've not yet found route maps more detailed than these.

    Auckward • Since Nov 2006 • 614 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen,

    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.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Tim Michie,

    Although these may be them.

    Auckward • Since Nov 2006 • 614 posts Report Reply

  • Kim Sokolich,

    Since Oct 2008 • 47 posts Report Reply

  • Kim Sokolich,

    Damn! I knew someone would beat me to it. ;)

    Since Oct 2008 • 47 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    you mean you didn't download the "890Mb" pdf?

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • James Butler,

    you've got every chance of moderating any policy with which you have an issue

    Oh and to follow-up, surely the way you moderate something is with mod points? How do I earn mine?

    Auckland • Since Jan 2009 • 856 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    The "890Mb pdf" actually does contain the maps you want and isn't really that big

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    branding an entire technology that I personally work with and I believe can and will do tremendous good for the planet as evil.

    You mean GM?

    How is this policy:

    Supporting the development of genetic technologies based on ethical screening and the precautionary principle on a case by case basis, so long as they are contained within the laboratory and are not applied to food production.

    branding GM as evil?

    Or is it something else, like nerve-gassing babies and little puppy dogs??

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Clarke,

    Returning briefly to the Rankin story ...

    I have to profess profound admiration for John Key in how he's handled this one. I presume his message to Peter Dunne is "you're a political irrelevance with no party backing, a bare majority in your electorate, and incredibly bad hair. This is a subtle way of saying you're of no further use to me."

    As a way of holding up a middle digit to someone who's meant to be a support partner, it's hard to think how Key could have done it better.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 85 posts Report Reply

  • stephen walker,

    Saving the planet will require the best minds, knowledge and technology

    have you decided on a particular name for your religious cult?
    (just for reference purposes, mind)

    the bulk of evidence suggests that the "best minds, knowledge and technology" have contributed significantly to the destruction of the planet over the last 150 years or so. do you have any evidence suggesting that this trend might be reversed in the near future? i'd be very interested.

    nagano • Since Nov 2006 • 646 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    One of the issues the Greens face is that people seek excuses not to engage with the Greens e.g. If it wasn't for <insert Green MP or Green issue>, then I'd vote/join/whatever...

    There's probably a vaguely interesting political analysis as to why on the 'green side' of the equation people feel they have to agree with pretty much everything and everyone to sign up, but on the other side, ACT members will happily hate one or more of their diverse MPs and still jump in pimples and all.

    The "890Mb pdf" actually does contain the maps you want and isn't really that big

    Heh. What's a factor of a thousand between friends?

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    How is this... branding GM as evil?

    Or is it something else, like nerve-gassing babies and little puppy dogs??

    There are certainly plenty in the Greens who act that way - they talk as if GE technologies threaten the existence of the planet. They're reactionaries, and are prone to making claims which are just not supported by any science. And then there are others like Jeanette Fitzsimons who make more limited and supportable claims.

    It's strange, considering their experiences on the other side of the equation relating to climate change, where they argue that a great majority of scientists can't be wrong, and that their opponents cherry pick data and studies which do not mean what they think they mean.

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    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.

    Every time someone says this, I send them to one of David Haywood's early posts (on Speaker nonetheless). One of my favourite PA posts of all time. I'll quote the Green Party section in full:

    Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

    Ironically, alphabetical order has placed ACT right next to their mortal enemy -- the Green Party. Practically all I know about the Greens is that they are anti-GE and seriously bad dancers. I entirely expected that their energy policy would consist of building wigwams, or perhaps making us wear braces instead of belts. Imagine my astonishment when I discovered that their energy policy actually makes sense. In fact, it's so sensible from an energy engineering perspective that I have hardly anything to say about it.

    I would only seriously debate them on two points. Firstly, the Green Party supports the use of biomass for transport fuels. Apart from waste biomass, this is difficult to justify at the moment, and may only become economic when plants/organisms are bred that produce much higher energy densities at much lower extraction costs. In practical terms this probably means genetic engineering -- to which, of course, the Greens are implacably opposed. Secondly, the Green Party make mention of "wind and solar freighters in the shipping industry". While this is technically feasible, it is not readily available technology, and frankly it sounds bloody daft. This is the energy policy equivalent of letting a camera crew film you dancing, guys.

    But these are only minor points. The Green's energy policy is by far the most detailed, comprehensive, and well-considered of any political party. Congratulations to whoever wrote it.

    Energy Star Rating = * * * * 1/2

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    One of the issues the Greens face is that people seek excuses not to engage with the Greens

    I'm perfectly happy to engage with the Greens. Heck, I've even leafleted, voted for them. But the Kedgley wing is a big part of the reason why I don't join, and I think it's a perfectly legitimate one to be frank.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    (Footnote): I am not, and have never been a member of the Green party. They've been getting my party vote recently though, for this among other things.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Eddie Clark,

    To continue the threadjack (sorry). I don't really see that it's an 'excuse' to be turned off to the point of not wanting to engage by what's easiest to call the 'Kedgley' wing of the Greens, who boggle in their scientific illiteracy and hypocrisy.

    The easiest example is GM vs natural health products. On GM, they took what I see as an overly cautious approach, but its certainly defensible - don't put things we don't know enough about out there for public consumption. However, Kedgley was then the leader in the fight AGAINST regulating natural health products. These are products with chemically active ingredients, with loose regulation, loose dosage control, and some of which have very poorly researched effects. Its simply incoherent to argue, as Kedgley did, that one should be subject to ultra-strict regulation and the other virtually none.

    I come from a family of scientists. Wilful ignorance, hypocrisy, and denigration-by-association of the entire bioscience community is a dealbreaker for me.

    [Disclosure: I VOTED for the Greens at the last election - lesser of all evils etc, but I still can't actually join the party in its current form]

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 273 posts Report Reply

  • Eddie Clark,

    Giovanni/Kyle: Heh, snap.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 273 posts Report Reply

  • Shay Lambert,

    "best minds, knowledge and technology" have contributed significantly to the destruction of the planet over the last 150 years or so.

    Surely they've also contributed one or two useful ideas as well. Penicillin is generally regarded as being quite useful, for example. And still don't know how those reflective cats eyes at the Royal Oak roundabout know to flash when someone's about to use the pedestrian crossing. That's just freakin' amazing.

    Auckland • Since May 2009 • 78 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    Eddie/Giovanni/Kyle: me too I probably would join too if it weren't for the GE thing - I'm all for holding people who are doing GE's feet to the fire and making them being extra careful and do the right thing - but an outright ban seems silly to me

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    Ditto on natural health regulation.

    Oh and when Kedgley gets on the anti-vaccine bandwagon, I want to kill her. Seriously. This is one area where her precious waving away of the evidence is harmful and even lethal.

    It's a pity, and fucks me off, because the Greens have a lot of useful things to say about toxic chemicals, which are a major health and workplace issue. It deserves a credible spokesperson.

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    And still don't know how those reflective cats eyes at the Royal Oak roundabout know to flash when someone's about to use the pedestrian crossing. That's just freakin' amazing.

    Yeah - like the thermos flask that keeps hot things hot & cold things cold. How does it know?

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Martin Roberts,

    The big fuss after the Royal Commission on GE is actually what first made me want to join the Green Party, even as it prevented me from voting for them. Of course I only got around to joining after the last election, so who knows how long it will be before I make it to my first members meeting.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 93 posts Report Reply

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