Posts by Chris Waugh
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Capture: Two Tone, in reply to JacksonP,
Awesome shot, one of those eye-boggling ones, had me instinctively thinking Taranaki and, with the way the mountain appears to just shoot up out of the road, the karst mountains outside Guilin, Guangxi, but thinking at the same time that it's not often you'd see snow that far south and surely it's Taranaki.
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Hard News: Narcissists and bullies, in reply to BenWilson,
I can’t understand the ongoing pussyfooting around that point by people condemning of the rape itself. Perhaps they’re trying to be liberal about minors drinking and having consenting sex,
Perhaps they're trying to maintain some shred of trust in the Police? I imagine that for a lot of people in NZ the idea that the Police might not be entirely trustworthy is a bit scary.
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Capture: Two Tone, in reply to David Hood,
blue?
Nicely placed question mark, but the autumn winds have finally kicked in and for once the sky actually was blue today. But thanks for the tip, I'll try darkening that blue and see what I get.
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One captured this morning. I can't quite get the lamppost to stand out the way it did in the flesh.
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Hard News: Cannabis: The Experiment is Real, in reply to Russell Brown,
Now, here is where I have been thinking. Although the Psychoactive Substances Act was intended to deal with that issue only, and not to have wider application, it does occur to me that, if after a period of time, it is shown to be working effectively, it could well become the model by which narcotic drugs, currently controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, are regulated for the future. The yardstick of level of risk – based on sound pharmacological and toxicological evidence – would become the determinant of availability, not public sentiment or prejudice.
I've been thinking along similar lines. And surely there's been a lot more research done on those Misuse of Drugs Act drugs? That drug harm index, for example.
As for partisan vs. cross-party, it would seem natural to me that NZ First, the Conservatives if they really are more than just Colin Craig, and a hefty chunk of National would be implacably opposed to legalisation. And that's ok with me - the legalisation of prostitution and repeal of Section 59 also faced opposition, but I'd be very surprised if anybody seriously thought those laws could be rolled back (although, of course, viewing these things from 11,000km away... apply appropriately sized grain of salt). It may not be a priority for Labour, but surely somebody could put in a private members bill and get Labour and the Greens on board through a harm minimisation argument and ACT by playing the Libertarian card. Don't know how you'd persuade Mana, but there must be an angle that could appeal to them.
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Hard News: Cannabis: The Experiment is Real, in reply to Stephen Judd,
I was referring to the possibility of a state monopoly rather than legalisation, but thanks. Disappointing, though, especially considering Labour found time or at least support for other progressive law reforms when it was last in government. Maybe the Greens could introduce a private members bill and Labour could have the decency to support it...
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My ideal world would not have commercial sales.
- Mark Kleiman quoted in Russell's article.
I think I agree with that. Why not have either grow-your-own and licenced notn-profit co-ops or a state monopoly required to donate any profit to charity or research? Ok, the monopoly option won't fly, it'd have everybody in National and ACT and probably much of Labour frothing at the mouth about the sacrosanct free market. But with marijuana we have a blank slate and I don't see any reason why we need to give Big Booze and Big Tobacco another way to reap massive profits promoting drug dependancy and all the ills that brings.
ETA: And to me the idea of banning a naturally-occurring living organism is utterly absurd. I understand the whole biosecurity thing, but making the existence of a plant or fungus already in the country illegal? Ridiculous.
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Hard News: Narcissists and bullies, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,
I remember nurses once arguing for pay equity with police. I’d extend that analogy to the health sector in general.
Perhaps too broad a comparison? (And surely pay equity with doctors?) Becoming a doctor (unless the system has changed since I've been away) requires all potential doctors doing the same MB ChB then their intern/junior years in a hospital before specialising, doesn't it? Seems pretty much the same as cops all doing the same Police College course then their required couple of years on traffic and general duties before specialising. It seems to make sense to me to require all wannabe cops and doctors to have the same broad, general training and experience before specialising - after all, what seems like a good idea when you first sign up might turn out to not be so well suited to you once you've actually got a bit of experience.
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Capture: Two Tone, in reply to Nora Leggs,
like thinking outside the square?
Perhaps, but pleasanter than another active thread around here, anyway.
not quite black and white
But very nicely toned. The pinkish one, in particular, looks extremely, fragilely crystalline.
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Thinking outside the library.
