Thursday, November 9, 2006

Nasty, nasty stuff

FT, can you imagine any of the contemptible wretches who would run our lives having the attention span to read through your clip let alone understand it and its implications?

It is most unlike me to have a second bite at the cherry on any given day but there have been a couple of events over the last twenty four hours that have me spitting tacks.

I had not realised that this texting rumour was a) true and b) was coming from the NZQA and was referrable to that dog's breakfast the NCEA. I am almost speechless. This is the ultimate dumbing down of an education sytem that is already a basket case. Texting language was devised for a specific purpose; that of fitting as much information on a small sized electronic screen as possible and this in a social interaction setting. By its very nature the words (sic) are ambiguous and therefore open to any interpretation the sender or receiver wants. That is why we have a language; so we can communicatre unambiguously with each other. It has absolutely no place whatsoever in the real world. It has no place in the world of business, commerce, international relations - anything. Except maybe arranging to meet your mates down the boozer.

Which leads nicely onto the vote last night to leave the drinking age at 18. In practical terms this affects me not at all as I am fifty five and don't drink. But it is another example, if one were needed, that the government and governance of this country is totally out of control. We have no upper house and the government can do whatever it likes. It is not shy in exercising this power, is it? The Bill was advertised as a conscience vote but Government Minister Burton coming out several hours before the vote saying that there would be a review on drinking purchases by young people if the Bill was defeated effectively made the vote meaningless and turned it into a party vote. A proper majority of the people (between 70% and 80% from memory) wanted the drinking age raised. The government, for whatever reason, did not and they got their way - again.

Put the two events (TXT SPK and grog at any age) together and you keep the population stupid and drunk - heard of that before, comrade?

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This government has absolute power.

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