http://blog.greens.org.nz hopping along the corridors of power Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:22:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In the paper this morning I referred to the MAF briefing to the incoming Government released yesterday. The Government’s press release chose to focus on bland reassertion of the fact that agriculture is the back-bone of the economy as if someone had forgotten. Far more topical is the briefing’s sage advice for ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/12/02/maf-warns-government/ Yesterday I was informed that a number of officials have been dumped from the New Zealand Government delegation to the climate change talks in Poznan, Poland. Apparently, a number of senior officials from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry for the Environment who were all set to attend to advice ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/12/02/national-rejects-expert-advice/ I love a good turn of phrase, and "ethical terminators" makes a good turn of phrase. It belongs with the joke about "military intelligence" being an oxymoron. The DomPost reported on this article from the Telegraph today. In an effort to reduce the incidence of war crimes, the US is ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/12/02/ethical-terminators/ Simon Upton writes a good critique of New Zealand's climate change situation in today's Dom Post. It must be amazing for the former National Party Minister who got us involved with the Kyoto process in the first place to watch as once again, we go back to square one in ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/12/02/upton-warns-of-a-laughing-stock/ With consents granted to the Arnold hydro scheme (45MW), and now a new proposal for a dam on coal-mining land on the Stockton plateau (25MW), the primary rationale for Meridian's Mokihinui Hydro Proposal (MHP) has been removed. Meridian's proposed MHP cites these benefits: The Mokihinui Hydro Proposal would: produce ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/12/01/the-writings-on-the-dam-wall/ Greenpeace has turned it's front webpage into a giant countdown clock leading to Copenhagen to highlight how little time we have left to cut a real deal on climate change. I quite like it. Temperature increases, global emissions and loss of ice at the Arctic and Antarctic have now overshot scientists' ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/12/01/countdown-to-copenhagen/ Another year rolls around and we are once again reminded of the scourge that continues to gather pace across the globe. Despite a peak of new cases in 2005, NZ continues to struggle with 2+ new HIV cases per week. Complacency amongst middle aged men and the resurgence of bareback ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/12/01/world-aids-day-2/ Why would someone who believes climate change is a hoax and human activity is not contributing to climate change, want a carbon tax? Why would you tax fossil fuels if you don't believe they are doing any harm? Why would a party that has campaigned on a carbon ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/11/30/nz-red-faced-over-climate-change/ Rarely are so few asked to do so much with so little for the benefit of so many, who are ungrateful. That's how I would describe Pharmac's calling. Today's Sunday Star Times spends an inordinate amount of column inches discussing the challenges Pharmac faces. Or does it? The unattributed comment piece ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/11/30/focus-on-pharmac/ I thought I would kick off the weekend with a topic that is sure to challenge the imagination and bring all sorts of ideas - good and crazy - out into the open. So just what is The Singularity? The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI) describes it thus: The Singularity is ... http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/11/29/the-singularity/