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Submitted by Ian Smith on Thu, 15/04/2010 - 3:08pm.
Let me first explain who 'Bill' was. He was a man with a very
large family which had weathered the depression of the
thirties successfully. At one time he had been a Communist
Party member, but even in 1956, the time of this
conversation, he had flagged it away as being no solution to
his problems, or those of anyone else for that matter.
At the time Russia and the US were at loggerheads (nothing
particularly new about that) and one day we were involved in
a conversation about what the world's future would hold for
mankind.
I was rather surprised, when he said that wars would
eventually be seen as economically unsustainable as a way of
achieving political objectives, and that future annexations
of territory and subjugations of populations would be
achieved by the manipulation of economics.
That was a revelation to an eighteen-year-old who had rarely
spared a thought for such things, but I feel we are on the
thin edge of a wedge, which, one day, might see Bill's
prophesy coming true.
Firstly, dairy expansion in New Zealand must be limited to
being able to absorb only such resources of land, water,
waste-disposal and methane production as are sustainable with
a very large safety-factor built-in.
Secondly, control of such resources must be kept out of the
hands of foreign powers, so that New Zealanders, and not
Chinese, are able to benefit.
The purchase of the 'Crafar' farms and the clandestine
incursions into Southland in search of dairying operations
for sale, should be stopped forthwith. The alternative, is
for us to wake up one day, and find that our dairy industry
(and likely other industries), is/are no longer our own.
These views are not the outcome of any anti-Chinese
sentiment, nor of xenophobia; they are, from where I'm
sitting, matters of simple, practical commonsense.
Submitted by Hype.O.Thermia on Thu, 15/04/2010 - 11:31am.
Wars for centuries have been fought to defend one's country
or the countries of one's allies. Now we have a situation
where those wars are not needed, just buy them up a bit at a
time. And buy a few politicians while they're at it. A few
central and local body politicians, a few managers and CEOs,
then watch the rules change until all NZers of all ethnic
ancestries get the choice to prosper by collaborating with
the economic conquerors or become a servant underclass.
Extreme, yes. Impossible? I wonder.
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