Spacehamster’s Blog

New Zealand recently had an election, in which the current Prime Minister barely managed to win by making deals with other political parties.

One of those deals was to make an anti-immigration politician the Foreign Minister of New Zealand. Interestingly enough, the new Foreign Minister won’t have a position in Cabinet. This could be interesting.

Last year Peters warned of an immigrant invasion which would turn New Zealand into an “Asian colony” and this year complained Muslim extremists were being allowed in the country.
…
The Australian government said it would work with whoever is New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister. But international relations expert Terence O’Brien said Peters’ views on immigration would create a negative impression among Asian neighbours, while excluding the foreign minister from cabinet would have disastrous effect on the country’s international relations.

And from news.com.au -

Mr Peters’ skills will be tested early in the new year when he is expected to front moves to open a dialogue with the US to try to bury the 20-year-old dispute over nuclear ships. But he is unlikely to be brought into play as negotiations on a China free-trade deal - which he opposes - are finalised.

So a Foreign Minister with Anti-Asian views (and who has yet to publically recant from them) may have to negotiate with an Asian country. This could be interesting. The current Prime Minister of Australia (John Howard) also opposed Asian migration at one time, but now has forged political ties with Indonesia. So I reserve hope that Mr. Peters can keep his latent prejudices in check. Nevertheless, I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next.

This is more in the way of ruminations than anything else. It’s not an indicator of any difficulties in my personal life (I’m really happy with my life right now, both personally and professionally).

Self-worth is one of those things that most people pursue in one way or another. I think we’re all looking for affirmation that the decisions we’re making in life are the right ones. This is especially true when we’re younger - we always look towards our peers and our elders for confirmation that what we are and the choices we’ve made are the right ones. Unfortunately, we don’t always get the answers that we want or the self-affirmation that we need.

As I’ve gotten older and wiser, I’ve come to the conclusion that looking for self-affirmation by turning towards others is an ultimately futile exercise. It’s been my experience that just about everyone is wrapped up in their own problems, and very few people have time to lend a sympathetic ear. It’s the nature of our society nowadays - we’re narcisstic, less inclined towards community service, and more insistent that we fulfill our own needs even at the expense of somebody else’s. Not to mention that we don’t want to hear about somebody elses troubles because we find it depressing to listen to - and who wouldn’t?

One of the great things about reaching my mid-twenties was the realisation that I no longer needed anyone’s approval or advice before coming to a decision that I was happy with. I had enough self-confidence in myself to do things my own way. As a result, the decisions that I’ve made in my life haven’t always been ones that my parents or anyone else would approve of, but they’ve benefited me enormously.

The most worthwhile lesson I’ve learned from my time in Melbourne as an independent adult, is the ability to make decisions clearly and decisively without excessively worrying about what other people think. It’s something that every maturing adult has to learn eventually - I’m glad I learned that lesson just in time.

http://www.soundboards.com/?view=95

Thus far, I’ve enjoyed working with the Tasmanian Police Department. But every once in awhile I’m reminded that their primary function is Law Enforcement. I was returning to the building after a walk, and found the entrance blocked by an irate gentleman having a bit of a verbal stoush with two other people. There was no way I could pass into the building without going past him. So I took my chances and squeezed past him and got through the doorway. It was actually quite dangerous - the guy could’ve had a weapon on him, and I wouldn’t have had a clue.

So why did I do it? Why didn’t I wait until the irate gentleman had gone? Coming from a Private Company, I always assume that the employer’s philosophy is “Efficiency and Productivity come first, and Workplace safety isn’t very important”. My attitude is that if I can’t get into the building, I can’t do my job, therefore I might be fired by my employer. It isn’t a particularly healthy attitude, but after 6 years in the Private Sector it’s a hard mindset to shake off. I don’t think the Police Department shares this philosophy - the kind of workplace safety issues they have to deal with on a daily basis are a lot more deadly than what a normal IT company has to face.