Posts by Rich of Observationz
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we rely on coroners to understand deaths and thus prevent future ones
Fortunately, we don't really. Various medical, social and regulatory authorities do their own research and enquires, and the coroner is a bit of a ceremonial: they died of doing X. X must be banned forthwith!
I'd favour reverting to a concept where the coroner acted as a check on the prosecuting authorities where there's potential culpability, rather than a generalised enquiry into anything dangerous.
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I guess some people will welcome Google Glass. Allow continuous review of driving activity and automated revocation of driving privileges. Also, will enable anyone who spends too much time in parties and clubs to be banned from driving. Or who abuses their privileges by attending anti-social events like protest meetings.
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Hard News: When the drug warriors turn, in reply to Ross Bell,
I would be interested to hear from a biochemist on that. My semi-educated thought would be that receptors don't work like that - some kind of ester of two psychoactive molecules is unlikely to behave like either or both of them.
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Up Front: In Committee, in reply to Kumara Republic,
Does Garth McVicar believe that oral-genital intimacy is an obstruction to inter-state commerce?
I suppose a trucker getting pleasured in an NV cathouse might prevent the prompt delivery of a load of widgets in CA.
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What's the deal with people knocking on your front door
Implied license, I think.
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Legal Beagle: On Burglary, or: Dropping…, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
Can you explain what "lawful" means? I'd often wondered...
Is a lawful purpose anything not a crime (or offence?). Is there a reverse onus? Does there need to be a specific purpose that is lawful?
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Would you recommend consistency in the law of manslaughter/murder so that carelessness in any area is treated as culpable homicide?
e.g:
- spilling liquid on the floor so a person slips and bangs their head, terminally
- somebody falls over in a mosh pit and suffers a fatal head injury
- cycling the wrong way up a one-way street and taking out a pedestrian -
Did we ever have midemeanours and felonies in NZ?
My concern is that BORA got changed so quietly. Isn't it meant to be core, fundamental, rights, not something that can be tweaked at will? I know it's neither entrenched or binding, but if it's amendable late on a Friday while everyone's at the beach, why not replace the whole thing with a Poolean version:
The subjects of New Zealand exist at the pleasure of their rulers. They have no rights, but may exercise such privileges as the rulers see fit to grant.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to Aidan,
I think that article could be changed to "why cyclists hate drivers" with just a couple of edits:
Then along come drivers, innocently following what they see as the rules of the road, but doing things that cyclists can't: staying warm and dry, not getting sweaty, listening to the radio, drinking a coffee
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drivers reading this might think “But we're the majority. Try doing a 200 mile journey on a bike, especially with 38 tonnes of groceries. "
... Maybe the solution is to educate cyclists that most people driving are perfectly nice people and making an essential journey to earn a living or get someplace they need to be. -
The "right or privilege" argument doesn't just relate to s 18 (1) of BORA (right of free movement) but goes further back, to s.29 of Magna Carta, which established the rule of law. Because of that, people have a "right" to do *anything*, but that right can be curtailed or regulated by parliament. There is no such thing as a "privilege" in a society ruled by laws.
To illustrate this, suppose I invented a star-trek type teleport. No laws* regulate such things so I would have an undisputed right to use it at will. Once limbs start being lost and people turning up where they aren't meant to be, then the government would no doubt introduce some form of regulation. That wouldn't make teleporting a "privilege" just a more constrained and regulated "right".
* Maybe the laws of thermodynamics