[LEAPSECS] Leap seconds decision deferred until 2015

[Richard B. Langley]

It seems Canada switched sides! No mention of China's stand in the  
article.

-- Richard

On 19-Jan-12, at 2:51 PM, Daniel R. Tobias wrote:


>

> On Thu, January 19, 2012 9:03 am, Tony Finch wrote:

>> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16625614

>

> I knew it... it's enough of a "hot button" issue among the handful of

> people who care about it that nobody wants to commit to actually  

> taking

> any action, so it will just keep bouncing around between study  

> committees

> indefinitely.  Maybe 100 years from now they'll still be debating it.

>

> That's what happens when you've got something that polarizes the

> interested parties sharply, with one subset strongly favoring change,

> another subset strongly favoring the status quo, and the vast masses

> outside these groups not particularly caring one way or the other,  

> so that

> there will never be enough massive outside pressure to force the  

> governing

> bodies to take action instead of calling for yet another committee.

>

> It's not like this is an issue that will lead to people marching on  

> the

> capitol, rallying under the Washington Monument to hear a charismatic

> speaker saying he has a dream of no more leap seconds (or of leap  

> seconds

> forever), or holding tea parties or occupation encampments to press  

> for

> one side or the other on this issue.  These sorts of mass movements  

> can

> sometimes force action when the politicians would rather just keep  

> batting

> the hot potatoes around, but they're not going to develop here.

>

>

> -- 

> Dan

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>

>

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| Richard B. Langley                            E-mail:  

lang at unb.ca         |

| Geodetic Research Laboratory                  Web: http://www.unb.ca/GGE/ 

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