Tag Archive for 'rabbiting'

Terrible, horrible, scary UNNATURAL chemicals

Published
by
tigtog
1 year, 10 months ago
in Language, Levity, Media, Science and Sociology
. 88 Comments

flasks Except of course, they aren’t. Our world is chemicals, our life is chemistry.

This rant is brought to you by yet another TV talking head rabbiting on about

“natural remedies, not those chemical ones”

Sorry Kochie, all those natural remedies are full of chemicals too. Chemicals don’t only come from factories, where they are not created but refined from naturally occurring raw materials and recombined to form new compounds.

Chemicals are also combined, recombined, recycled and recombined again every time you, me and every other animal breathes and eats, just for starters. Chemicals also gad about when every plant respires and photosynthesises – every plant and every animal is made of chemical elements and every natural remedy consists of active ingredients that have consistent conventional chemical names e.g. vitamins.

This idea that chemicals are nasty and unnatural and dangerous is rampant. Why? Continue reading ‘Terrible, horrible, scary UNNATURAL chemicals’

Rudd govt anti-same-sex-discrimination bill depends on the Senate balance of power

Published
by
tigtog
1 year, 10 months ago
in Law, Lesbian and Gay, Parenting and Policy
. 31 Comments

The Age:

The Age believes Attorney-General Robert McClelland will announce today that he will introduce amendments to Parliament as early as next month to alter around 100 federal laws.

The changes will not allow gay marriages or same-sex couples to adopt children, and the issue of access to the Family Court for same-sex couples is still being resolved.

Some of the changes would take effect immediately, but many financial laws — such as social security, tax and veterans’ affairs — would be phased in by mid-2009. But first the changes will have to be passed by the Senate, where the Coalition retains its majority until July 1.

Even after then, Labor will need the vote of conservative Christian and Family First senator Steve Fielding and independent senator Nick Xenophon if it cannot clinch Coalition support.

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson has signalled he backed the principle of removing discrimination against gay couples but has yet to secure formal support from his colleagues.

This is the sort of situation that led to my rabbiting on so much about the importance of balancing the Senate in our last election. I’ll bet on Fielding voting against this bill, in which case unless the Liberals support it it won’t go through. Continue reading ‘Rudd govt anti-same-sex-discrimination bill depends on the Senate balance of power’