Charlie,

I agree with points 1,2,3 and 4 wholeheartedly, but I disagree with 5 and 6.

If politicians are given their head without protest on any one subject, they
think this will give them carte blanche to go farther with something even more
outrageous. I believe, to some extent, that the politico-technical debate, often
heated, on this forum, was at least partially responsible for the politicians
adding water to their wine. If we just shut up on the political side, then
expect what you WILL get, whether you like it or not.

I agree that lead (Pb) is a good vote-catching keyword but there are two species
even more dangerous than the politician in this, and many other debates, the
lobbyist and the technocrat. The former, employed by the vested interests,
nobbles the politician and the technocrat and even suggests innovative
legislation. In the case of lead-free, there is little need to guess who is
lobbying for what. The technocrat has the remarkable ability to absorb what his
political masters and lobbyists feed him with and make a convincing-sounding
cocktail totally divorced from the realities of life. Of course, the 'techno'
part of his name does not imply he has had any technical training: I know
technocrats from many walks of life, mostly well educated and intelligent
persons, but sometimes with little formal education beyond high school or an MBA
from a minor "university" (we called them "colleges of further education" in my
days, but politicians upgraded them to full-blown universities, so that the
statistics of university education look so much better. Simultaneously, of
course, the standards of education went down, so that half the current output of
universities are now only semi-literate.).

I therefore believe that it is important to publish the political, as well as
technical, issues, including on forums such as this. Without everyone becoming
aware of them, nothing will ever get done and the corridors of power will become
ever-more-powerful.

Brian

Charlie Mulholland wrote:

> Hi,
> 1. Most engineers are used to applying logic and commonsense in their
> everyday jobs.
>
> 2. The whole Leadfree thing does not make logical or common sense.
>
> 2. The Leadfree thing is being driven mostly by politicians in the
> <developed> countries who are not concerned in the slightest that any
> replacement to lead will probabaly cause more pollution in the mining and
> refinement areas, i.e. third world countries than lead does.
>
> 4. Why does anyone, in any country and in the light of all our everyday
> experience, expect politicians to use any sort of logic or commonsense.
>
> 5. In the light of 4. above why do not we in this forum stop trying to see
> the sense in this directive and just get on with finding the best, most
> logical and sensible way of complying with this stupid, illogical and
> nonsensical directive just as we do with all of the other stupid, illogical
> and nonsensical directives politicians worldwide come up with.
>
> 6. I.e. use this forum to discuss techniques and technology only.
>
> P.S As someone who lives in Northern Ireland and therefore has NI UK and EEC
> politicians plus the helping hands of Irish and US politicians, believe me I
> know politicians!
>
> Yours in cynical dispair,
>
> Charlie Mulholland
>
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