xyz

Is it "shooting ourselves in the foot" ... or, as current expression has it, "pulling a Cheney"?

Food for thought.

J.

Peppering our foot because it didn't announce itself soon enough. Foot is very sorry for the trouble.

CSIRO has always been too political and too concerned with practical applications of science and too little with funding basic research. The organization screwed around for years on ecological research and now climate change is being blamed for the ills of the continent.

This thread is not posting to the front of the line with new notes. Let's try again.

Marshall,
what's wrong with being "concerned with practical applications of science"? Are you being facetious? Don't understand what you're trying to say...
And yes, always far too political...

Shax, not meaning to offend, but I have some ill-remembered ill feelings about the organization from some time back. My comment was not facetious, just a bit vaguely judicious. I have nothing against practical applications if science supporting policies and programs is well done.

I had and still have a few old colleagues who were shuffled out of important research because their politics were wrong or their research too contrary to special interests. Let me leave the matter at that. CSIRO has done some good work, particularly on arid lands research where at the time my interests crossed the organization's working arm.

Shooting ourselves in the foot, is a huge understatement!
The US government has too many hidden agendas. Let stop whining about who's right, and who's wrong on choices that we as individuals have to make, and start focusing ourselves on preservation of the planet as a whole. The government isn't going to be judged if someone gets an abortion, or kills another human being, (one in the same), the person who does the deed will. Get rid of the desire to only better yourself, and promote charity. Jesus said that charity is the greatest of all characteristics any man can have. Change your perspective, and you will see a future without poverty, and war.

Vishnu's eems to be saying that abortion is the same as killing another person, but we should focus on preserving the planet as a whole. As an environmentalist, I sure don't want to see women forced to bear children they don't want to have/can't afford/whatever. The planet would be in far better shape if there weren't so many darn people everywhere, wanting to cut down all the trees and kill all the fish and burn up all the oil and have cars and build houses and so on.

I know there is a big propaganda movement from certain religious factions, but how did sensible people come to believe that a sperm and egg is equivalent to say me or you? That's not logical at all! Forcing women to bear children against their will also doesn't seem charitable. Extra children also lead to poverty. Not sure what this has to do with CSIRO, though.

Marcia

Vishnu, what is needed is reformers of selves, not others.

Pratica o que voce diz?

Vishnu, not to be rude, but I think you're point of view is an impractical cop out, And this has nothing to do with abortion (My contention that is). You're basically saying that if we were all nice that we wouldn't have problems, and we know that, if everyone went out of there way to make room for everyone else then everyone would be well accomidated for, unfortunately we can't make other people be nice to each other, there has always been that portion of the population thats just not nice and abuses the rest of it, we have to figure out a way to deal with them, I am all for turning the other cheak, thats what I try to do, but thats not enought and it never has been, True progress has only ever been made by patronly figures (not all of them male) standing up and saying "this is wrong, we need to stop doing it" People who focus only on being nice to others are just as bad as those who seek only to better there own situation.

I'm not religious but you mentioned Jesus, so I'll bring up a Jesus reffernce, He turned over the tables in the temple and castigated the profiteers who were useing god to make money, He wasn't all about charity, he was for standing up against those that do wrong, Being chairitable is important, but peer presure on others to not be evil is by far the more important part in todays society and in the societies of the past.