Maurice:
Thanks for the wild-eyed, manic rant, er, response. It made clear to me how your position is driven by the rational analysis of pure science as opposed to the ignorant emotionalism of the enviros. (g)
<<For example, they call these achievements. Hahaahahah!! : <environmental legal assistance and resourcing for environment centres to remove barriers to public participation under the Resource Management Act (RMA)
reducing compliance costs related to the RMA by working with local government to improve best practice
progressing the Resource Management Act Amendment Bill through the select committee and convening a Ministerial group to coordinate a ‘whole of government’ approach > >
I see the bureaucrats of NZ adhere to the strict ISO 14000 standards for bureaucratese...and talk the same talk as the Americans bureaucrats. But I agree with your point. It always amuses me how bureaucrats view administrative action as an “achievement”.
<<Easy. The general public is pig ignorant. If wacko environmentalists make some claim, it's dangerous for a company to oppose them. The wacko environmentalists call for a public boycott. The company only needs to lose 5% of their customers and they are in big trouble for no gain. So, they be quiet and add the silly costs of doing business to their prices. Governments are happy to put the burden on too because if a politician goes against the wackoes, they lose votes, but don't gain a compensating number of votes from people who disagree, because those who disagree don't care about what they see as a trivial issue and are worried about their own interests. >>
And I thought elaborate, conspiracy scenarios were the province of the goldbugs! Now I see the stuff of capitalist nightmares. I shouldn’t do this but I’ll share a little trick the American businessmen have developed into an art. Just shake your head, sigh and say “It could mean jobs.” It’ll blow away the arguments of all the wackos and any populist politicians that might try to jump on their bandwagon. Works every time. Money back guaranteed. Try it.
<<No, the collective decision-making of society doesn't always correct itself. That's a false premise of believers in democracy. Facts and truth are not a matter of popular belief. >>
How about if I say this: democratic societies will tend to revert to a mean position. I meant “correct” in terms of correcting excesses in one direction or the other.
<<Communities which persist in false beliefs are usurped by people who have better beliefs.>>
Hmmmm. Right thinking people will prevail, huh? Sounds like the talk of a religious extremist. Much like our President Bush saying "god is never neutral."
<< It's a red in tooth and claw process called evolution. That's why we have big bumps over our eyebrows. The mistaken people didn't get to have their DNA represented in the gene pool. IQ has been selected because it works. >>
Do you have bumps over your eyebrows? Is this a NZ trait? I seem to be missing them. The obvious implication that this makes me a member of the pig ignorant group has me worried...
<<As I wrote, facts and truth are not a matter of voting. No, it's not obvious the true answer is unknowable.>>
Written with the unshakable confidence of someone convinced of mankind’s omniscience. Some of us have our doubts…
<<Actually, humans haven't always lived for the moment. Mostly we plan well ahead and those who are successful at doing that have been genetically selected. Animals don't plan far ahead - they don't have the brainpower. Humans have been selected for that ability.>>
Huh? Are these humans the same the pig ignorant people you referred to earlier? Sorry. But I believe you are incorrectly generalizing the behavior of a select minority to the pig ignorant masses.
<<...gorse, box thorn, leeches, hagfish - I wouldn't miss them.>>
Just so you know, overfishing in Asia has decimated their local hagfish stocks, so it says here:
oceanlink.island.net
Be careful what you wish for...you might miss 'em when they're gone.
Actually, they appear to have their redeeming qualities and need nothing so much as a new name to bring them into the same hug-able, love-able category as the panda bear and koala.
Imagine what it's going to do for the goliath grouper now that it's dropped it anti- Semitic past:
stpetersburgtimes.com.
john |
