Posts by recordari
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Sure seems like another of those music cascade moments.
Just got Band of Horses, The National (iTunes), Phoenix Foundation (much discussed) and Kirsten Morrell's on CD.
For train spotters like me I also got a 180gsm release of Dead Can Dance's album The Serpent's Egg, which was one my favourite albums of 1988-89. Sold my other one before going overseas. Yes, yes, I know, get a life!!!
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Damn, and here I was thinking my pre-revelat(ion) copy might become rarified, and fetch a higher price. In fact Sacha it seems more likely than ever.
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Because organic farmers don't use modern fungicides they rely too much on copper and the result is a progressive build up of copper which isn't all that great.
Or conversely our low selenium, also being studied here in relation to prostate cancer.
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something like this...
Surely that should win some 'mansplain' award?
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In an ironical sense, this starts to look increasingly like Nihon bashi(ng) just a little bit, don't you think? We are sill happy to buy their cars, right? And we're back to drinking French wine, aren't we? I'd hate to fall out of step.
Yes there are issues in Japanese society, that when I lived there many moons ago used to drive me bananas. Why for example did my third generation Korean friend have to carry a foreign identity card and have his fingerprints taken? And certainly this article is way off the mark.
However, if I can get away with a biblical reference, let the country who is innocent cast the first trident.
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Not really Bart, as you are presenting rational arguments without emotive taglines. Peter also.
My personal wish is that the notions of 'obesity', 'premature maturation', 'diabetes', and a number of other conditions too extensive to list, are not looked at without due consideration of environmental factors. This of course includes diet, but also should acknowledge the role of toxins, and the effects they have on, for example, the Thyroid, or the glucose/insulin pathways (explaining diabetes at the end of a sentence is beyond my capabilities).
To extend this example, there is some ground breaking work going on at Auckland Uni on the effects of excess Copper (with corresponding low Zinc) in diabetes, with fairly extraordinary results.
It is likely Gluckman does know about all this. It is also likely he chooses his words for a reason, but I'm not going to compound any conspiracy.
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And it's not exactly hidden science for someone of Gluckman's resources.
That was sort of my beef. The statements were so categorical, it seemed to leave little room for broader discussion and understanding of the issues. Poor reporting seems likely, but when in 2 minutes I found 20+ references on BPA, endocrine disruptors, oestrogen receptors etc etc, I sort of would expect my Chief Scientist to stand up to more scrutiny. And therefore, as Sacha mentioned, it starts to reek of cheerleading.
According to the scientist in the office next to me (long story) the 'healthy' bit could account for reducing the maturation age from 14 to 12 in certain circumstances, but chemicals could bring it down to 8, or even younger.
I also think the last thing that is needed in response to a tragedy (or several tragedies) is media hyperbole. This undoubtedly isn't Gluckman's fault, but still.
Sorry, it's been a bad day, and I'm ranting.
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Peter Gluckman said;
Younger sexual maturation, slow brain development and complex social networks are creating a "powder keg" likely to cause an explosion of unsafe sex, drugs and crime, warns the Government's chief science adviser.
and
Sexual maturation had sped up because of better child health and nutrition, and was a sign of a physically healthy population.
BS. You don't think the 80,000+ new chemicals introduced in the past 100 years had anything to do with it? These people do. And this panel from the EPA including other multi-disciplinary 'experts' also found that;
The weight-of-the-evidence evaluation of human and animal studies suggest that endocrine-disrupting chemicals, particularly the estrogen mimics and antiandrogens, and body fat are important factors associated in altered puberty timing.
But hey, Gluckman knows best.
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Which "we"?
The royal 'we', of course.
We are discussing sovereignty, after all.
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I'm trying to to tap into John Key's rationale for pulling back.
He seems to think, or believe even, he is pandering to his electorate. And while my chromatic leanings are historical bluer than red (well, maybe my blue shirt has mauve strips), I find it hard to associate with any of this. Is this Govt even familiar with the concept of 'Historical Precedence'? Or is Tuhoe to be treated differently, which seems to have been the case going back 150+ years.
Sir Paul Reeves said:
"I can think of other examples where previous governments have vested land in Maori - one would be Okahu Bay in Auckland, which is vested in Ngati Whatua. It's their land and they got that back but there's a co-management arrangement with Auckland City Council.
"I think Tuhoe would say for the first 10 years let there be a co-management arrangement, and I didn't see how it was fundamentally different from what has been done elsewhere. But I think the present political realities might be weighing heavily on the Prime Minister's mind."
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"Tamati Kruger sounds like an eminently-reasonable man, a principled man who knows what he wants. Settle with him. Deal with it."
Tuhoe had a valid claim to the restoration of their land, he said.
"I read Judith Binney's book, which talked about the disgraceful way that land was lost . . . taken.
What's so contentious about that? Obviously Judith Binney isn't in the government advisory committee, but perhaps she should be, or they could at least get someone to read the books.