[MPWG] Apology

[Ivor Hughes]

I have just returned from a couple of days on the Northland coast. On 
glancing in the mirror I see that the hunch backed, raddled faced old 
gnome (my public persona) has reverted back to something more human. 
There is an alchemy in sun, moon, sea and land .... Earth Air Fire and 
Water.

I unreservedly apologise to those thousands of  honest hobbitts (front 
line fisheries and wild life officers) who try to walk a line between 
the people and their masters.  I fully appreciate the difficulties of 
that position. My barb was not aimed at individuals, but rather at the 
system itself.

It is also noted that our NZ front line fisheries and wild life officers 
have recently requested that they be armed with retractable metal batons 
in order to protect themselves from an irate peasantry.

Whence comes this widespread disrespect for the rule of law ?  I think 
we can learn from the past. Think Al Capone and Elliot Ness and the  
time of the great dry (Prohibition)  That episode  cost billions of 
dollars  and possibly thousands of lives. This unworkable legislation 
was finally repealed when our masters finally understood that it was 
unworkable ... Duh !!

That situation arose because the people lent their support to the 
mobster Capone ( Bath tub gin and moonshine whiskey) rather than to 
Elliot Ness and the government.  The point being, is that restrictions 
which do not have public support .... are always doomed to failure.  
However I can see ... that here we go again .... very soon the 
retractable steel batons will turn into guns and pepper sprays and 
kangaroo courts of law, with lots of peasants who are to be made 
examples of. Thank heavens that they no longer impale severed heads in 
public places .... as a warning to the transgressors.

I note that my posting was labeled extreme. One member resigned because 
my remarks were unacceptable to the individual concerned.  That also is 
a form of extremism .... because it is a symbolic book burning .... I 
acknowledge the gentle chiding from Dr Angelis ..  I also acknowledge 
all of the finer shades of grey which emerge from the black and white  
hats. However let me say that a biff on the bean from an enforcement 
officers baton is another form of extremism. Rich and poor is also 
another form of extremism.  It depends on which part of the black and 
white spectrum moulds ones perception.

I feel that the current situation here in NZ is an example of the double 
speak between ruled and rulers.  Centre stage is a  bastard onion .... a 
genetically modified one.  The previous scene involved the aerial 
spraying of many thousands of people in West Auckland. The official line 
is that we need to protect our horticultural industry from a moth that 
had the potential to devastate the industry.  Never mind that the 
peasants were not allowed to be told what they were being sprayed with, 
because the information was commercially sensitive. There are now a lot 
of sick and damaged people in West Auckland.

I took a stroll along the margins of a public reserve in an area that 
was within the spray zone ... first visit was at blossom time for many 
flowering trees and shrubs .... a sight to send your soul soaring. The 
thing that was noticeable .... no flying insects of any kind. I also 
examined the organic detritus at the base of some shrubs and trees ... I 
could not find any insects of the creepy crawly variety either.

My second visit was like a stab in the heart .... the area was thick, in 
fallen futile blossom .... no seed or fruit had set ... nothing to 
pollinate them. This is scientific extremism at its very worse ... you 
know the story ..... there is no scientific evidence ... blah blah blah 
... and Nero continues to fiddle (literally) while Rome burns.

Public perception in West Auckland is that the government with its 
scientific advisors moved to protect a genetically modified pine forest 
owned by big business under the guise of protecting the economy.  I 
wonder ... do they understand the long term effects of what they have 
done to us ?  ... or for that matter, do they even care ?

So back to the GM onion. There appears to be widespread public 
perception .... that all of this nonsense was a done deal for the 
benefit of big business .... Extreme view .... I think not.  The GM 
Moratorium was recently lifted ... the body who were appointed by the 
Govt  to protect the people is called ERMA ( Environmental Risk 
Management Authority) I will  skate around the irony of the authorities 
name. ERMA did a done deal with the onion man ..

The Government also quickly introduced some legislation .. the effect of 
which, is that Bio - Terrorists can receive up to 10 years in prison  
for uprooting GM crops.   Bio- Terrorists ? 10 years in prison for 
pulling up GM onion ?

A group of NZ Greens recently held a workshop on how to safely pull the 
GM crops up.   This was quickly followed by the chief onion man 
scientist bleating about bio-terrorism .... surely it depends on which 
part of the black and white spectrum one inhabits ... as to who the real 
Bio-Terrorist is ... because there is some double speak on his part ... 
I hope that scientist enjoys 10 years in prison for his bio-terrorism.  
Shonky legislation is a two edged sword, and the people will use it.

Meanwhile back on Planet Earth a group of white hat scientists are 
tolling the warning bell .... we are going to lose 10 % of the biosphere 
in the not too distant future ... and further that 10% is irreversible 
... so watch out for .... the black hats .... there is no scientific 
evidence ... blah blah blah !

Meanwhile at an economically deprived ghetto near you .... lots of 
people scurrying around like rats in a skinner cage wondering where the 
next meal is coming from and wondering whether to feed the baby or pay 
the rent. Many of them do not understand the forces at work which will 
determine their fate.   It is an inescapable fact of history that the 
lower economic classes have to bear the brunt of top down legislation 
... that only takes account of  commercial interests. Where is the Justice ?

The bottom line for us all .... Conservation applies to everything in 
the biol-sphere and it is not compatible with our current way of doing 
things. Obviously there are no quick fixes and there are going to be 
some bloody clashes in developed countries between authority and those 
that disagree with the top down solutions.

Funding for the white hat scientists must come as individual donations 
from the public, and not from the Oil, Chemical and Pharmaceutical  
Cartel.  An example of white hat is Dr Mae Wan Ho of  ISIS which is 
science in the public interest. I have no vested interest in ISIS but I 
am an admirer  ... not just because she is a peoples scientist ... but 
also for the quality of the science that ISIS have  published especially 
in the GM arena. I enjoyed a recent article on the fluid genome.

Perhaps we need to be behaving more like the fluid genome instead of an 
extinct fossilised remnant ?

If the public get behind the white hats ... I am sure that we can manage 
our survival in a manner, in which we will be assured that the burden of 
the sacrifice is distributed evenly.  The planet will survive no matter 
what we do to her .... have you ever watched a cat eat its kittens ? and 
then wondered what that abberation of nature was all about ? 

The earth will open one small pore (cats mouth) and eat us alive ... 
support your local white hat scientist now ... or pay the price later ..

Ivor Hughes
www.herbdatanz.com