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The Political Thread

Started by The Legendary Shark, 09 April, 2010, 03:59:03 PM

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WoD

I amazed that you were not the one vilified in the paper...shame on you...you disgust me with your objectionable manner and view-point.

James Stacey

Shark .. you know this makes you legendary, right?

uncle fester

Quote from: James S on 16 April, 2010, 02:48:57 PM
Shark .. you know this makes you legendary, right?

He's got a point.
Well done, Mr Shark.

The Legendary Shark

You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment.  ;)
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Peter Wolf

Quote from: The Legendary Shark on 16 April, 2010, 01:49:33 PM
I have engaged the Borg...

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p147/the_legendary_shark/Misc/borrow_facebook_ban.jpg



Its interesting how each time you have confronted the dishonourable MP about this matter each time they have chosen to have someone else speak for them rather than talk about it directly.

Its as if they feel that it is beneath themselves to talk directly to anyone.
Worthing Bazaar - A fete worse than death

House of Usher

David Borrow apparently had the eighth largest MPs' expenses claim in 2007/8: £172,706.


Driving home tonight I was heartened by all the vox pops on the radio saying that after hearing the leaders' debate they would now be voting LibDem instead of Labour or Tory.
STRIKE !!!

Robin Low

Quote from: Dudley on 16 April, 2010, 04:00:41 AM
Quote from: Robin Low on 15 April, 2010, 10:38:38 PM
Why is the result laughable? I'd never vote for the Greens, because I'm not anti-nuclear power and I'm strongly pro-GM technology.

But do those two beliefs determine your vote ahead of issues such as the economy, policing, education, foreign affairs, etc?  The Greens offer the best overall package of policies (to my mind and, it seems, to yours): inevitably you'll not agree with all of them.

Remember that I also said:

Also, I had to choose the lesser evil in every case - there was nothing I could subscribe to with any enthusiasm, and I've forgotten what I voted for already.


Regards

Robin

Robin Low

Quote from: House of Usher on 16 April, 2010, 09:20:40 AM
Quote from: Robin Low on 15 April, 2010, 10:38:38 PM
I'd never vote for the Greens, because I'm not anti-nuclear power and I'm strongly pro-GM technology.

Are you so keen on nuclear power that you wouldn't vote Green, because you couldn't guard against the possibility that having just two or three Green MPs in the House would be enough to stop a nuclear power station being built?

I'm not especially keen on nuclear power, I'm just not anti- it. It's the anti-technology angle that concerns me. The Greens are in favour to renewable technologies, of couse, but generally I don't trust them.

QuoteI am interested to know more about your enthusiasm for genetic modification. I'm not exactly horrified by it myself, but it seems to me any advantages it has to offer are purely commercial, whereas there are far greater potential human benefits to be had from social, political and economic reform than from the technological fix.

The commercial sector will exploit anything it can get its grubby little mitts on, even, I suspect, social, political and economic reforms. We just have to aim to curb its excesses and support what's good.

Sadly, most research is driven by the commercial sector, and as a result it gets the rights to exploit it. The only way to mitigate this is for public money to be put into scientfic and technological research, with a view to developing new industries that are going to provide jobs and produce beneficial products.

Regards

Robin

The Legendary Shark

A time limit on all patents of five to ten years might help. You invent something, you make a fortune off it for 5-10 years and then the idea reverts to public ownership, or 95% of it to public ownership if you think the inventor should keep earning until death.
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House of Usher

#219
Quote from: Robin Low on 16 April, 2010, 08:04:31 PM
Sadly, most research is driven by the commercial sector, and as a result it gets the rights to exploit it. The only way to mitigate this is for public money to be put into scientfic and technological research, with a view to developing new industries that are going to provide jobs and produce beneficial products.

I'm not wholly in favour of public investment where GM or biotechnology in general are concerned. In recent years the pharmaceutical industry, struggling to come up with new blockbuster drugs through the conventional fine synthetic chemistry approach, has been keen to buy up biotech companies with the most promising products pipeline in the hope that they'll be the future source of lucrative large molecule patents. Public investment comes in the form of grants and technology park facilities to get things started, but it's big business that stands to reap the commercial dividends. The same would be happening with GM crops if the industry had managed to persuade the public that there was any need at all for the products to exist, but they weren't very convincing. People are a lot more willing to give free money to the pharmaceutical industry than agribusiness because they're willing to believe that the former is about saving lives rather than making money.
STRIKE !!!

Peter Wolf

Quote from: Robin Low on 15 April, 2010, 10:38:38 PM
and I'm strongly pro-GM technology.


Regards

Robin

I think its outrageous that Monsanto should be allowed to corporatise and control the food chain wholesale but they wont try that here in the west but they would like to do this in developing countries if they are not already doing so.

I think they should be stamped on very very hard.

This is the worst example of private sector exploitation.

I dont think any public money should be given to the private sector in principle because they wont see a return on it and i expect the private sector to fund itself.There has been far too much of this already what with bailouts being given to banks and the taxpayer being charged with it with NO return on their investments.

I am seeing this happen more and more but thats because we live in a corporatocray [fascism] where govts treat the the public purse as an infinate supply of cash that they think they can do what they like with.

For example Microsoft were proposing a tax paid by everyone to contribute towards improved cybersecurity because govts latest scare campaign is cyberattacks from russia and China etc.This is complete bolloxs and what makes it worse is Microsoft were proposing it.

My solution for that was for Microsoft to improve the security of their software which they could easily do plus the fact that we all pay cash to private sector ISP of which a percentage of their profits should go towards improving cybersecurity not taxpayers.

I dont want one penny of any taxes i pay going towards the pharmaceutical companies.Its totally out of the question.

Worthing Bazaar - A fete worse than death

Robin Low

Quote from: House of Usher on 16 April, 2010, 08:34:13 PMPublic investment comes in the form of grants and technology park facilities to get things started, but it's big business that stands to reap the commercial dividends.

Yes, so you make sure the companies you set up and fun are public sector companies.

Regards

Robin

Robin Low

Quote from: Peter Wolf on 16 April, 2010, 08:50:34 PM

I dont think any public money should be given to the private sector in principle because they wont see a return on it and i expect the private sector to fund itself.

I never said that money should be given to the private sector. I said:

Sadly, most research is driven by the commercial sector, and as a result it gets the rights to exploit it. The only way to mitigate this is for public money to be put into scientfic and technological research, with a view to developing new industries that are going to provide jobs and produce beneficial products.

the implication being that public sector R&D and commercialisation of results is funded and supported in order to offset the activities of the private.


Regards

Robin

Peter Wolf

Quote from: Robin Low on 16 April, 2010, 11:21:13 PM
Quote from: Peter Wolf on 16 April, 2010, 08:50:34 PM

I dont think any public money should be given to the private sector in principle because they wont see a return on it and i expect the private sector to fund itself.

I never said that money should be given to the private sector. I said:

Sadly, most research is driven by the commercial sector, and as a result it gets the rights to exploit it. The only way to mitigate this is for public money to be put into scientfic and technological research, with a view to developing new industries that are going to provide jobs and produce beneficial products.

the implication being that public sector R&D and commercialisation of results is funded and supported in order to offset the activities of the private.


Regards

Robin

That part of my comment wasnt directed at yourself and i understood what you were saying.It was just the GM bit.

Apologies.

I just realised how stupid my comment was regarding my taxes going to pharmaceutical companies because up to a point i dont mind at all but it was that H1N1 scare that i took exception to for various reasons and now there are all those unwanted H1N1 vaccinations.
Worthing Bazaar - A fete worse than death

House of Usher

Quote from: Robin Low on 16 April, 2010, 11:21:13 PM
I never said that money should be given to the private sector. The implication being that public sector R&D and commercialisation of results is funded and supported in order to offset the activities of the private.

Fair enough. I just lack your vision. Just because we don't do that at the moment I was assuming we'd continue in the same vein in the future. I hear plenty about enabling research entrepreneurs to start up private firms, and seeking private sector partnerships to commercialize laboratory science discoveries from the universities, but I don't hear much from any political party about setting up new state-owned commercial enterprises. I think politicians on the the whole tend to see that as not being the role of government these days.
STRIKE !!!