Fox & Friends audience member on why he opposes the Green New Deal: "Many environmentalists, and 'OAC' being one of them, do not realize that America is covered in grass. And 75% of a cow or a beef animal's body weight is made up of grass, which we cannot eat." pic.twitter.com/RCxs0gEOq6
Jerry Falwell would go nuclear if Alexandria interfered with his cows.
And as for anti-environmentalists understanding about grass – if they can read this book they might learn more about it than they want to know. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Grass
by John Christopher
Scientists have been telling us stuff for centuries and we have ignored
them.
Hugh Hindmarsh Atkinson died in England December 2018 aged 89.
Atkinson went overseas to finish his studies and did many things before he become Chairman of the European Space Agency in his later years. Among his appointments:
… He continued to work at Harwell for a few years before shifting to the adjacent Rutherford Laboratory, remaining there for seven years as head of the general physics group….
During his years in Whitehall, he provided advice on topics ranging from the supersonic Concorde aircraft through to environmental matters. In one report he wrote that the countryside was being “destroyed” by farmers ripping out hedgerows; the Ministry of Agriculture insisted instead it say the landscape was being “modified”
(He noted the countryside in UK being ‘destroyed’ in one report written between 1968-1972.)
Sure – they’re mad, but they have most of the privately owned guns.
The National Defense Authorization Act (2012) has been interpreted by some people to override the Posse Comitatus Act (1878). If so, Federal military forces could be legally deployed against mad, armed to the teeth conservatives opposing a Sanders presidency. Possibly. Fun times ahead for the “great Satan”.
One is a random act.
Two is coincidence.
Three (lets hope it doesn’t happen) is highly suspicious.
I had three pets who suffered unaccounted for injuries on consecutive occasions. Two died and the third one was saved. My vet was certain the two dogs were not accidents. The third was a cat.
My heart goes out to the owners. I know what they are going through.
Does anyone know what the possibilities are of having a motion-sensor camera, a pinhole camera, a thin line of wire alerting on movement so that something can be done to prevent tragedy or catch the perp? It could be the same person, I would think a man, with a fetish and hate connected with this type of horse. Is there a connection between the two horses. A broken neck – was that through falling over a cliff after being chased? It couldn’t be done by human strength surely.
Another thought has occurred to me. The rodeos have been stopped and this has resulted in anger from the men involved. There is a lot of anger about SAFE’s work helping animals also. The sort of people who own these small horses might be seen as those interfering so and sos. Having a wild ride on one of their horses, giving it pain to make it buck and keeping it going till it falls down would be a possibility to those of callous disposition.
We know that they exist out there; men who won’t limit themselves, who turn vicious when they are denied something, pour their hate and anger on to a chosen or even random victim. Injuring and killing children, women, dogs, horses, seagulls, seals, and also other men is seen by the perpetrator as dishing out punishment that is justified. I write sometimes about soul. Trying to keep one in a good state is probably the basis of managing to stay mentally healthy. I don’t believe in blanket forgiveness, but I do attempt understanding.
When aiming to reduce animal suffering, we often focus on the short-term, tangible impacts of our work, but longer-term spillover effects on the far future are also very relevant in expectation.
As machine intelligence becomes increasingly dominant in coming decades and centuries, digital forms of non-human sentience may become increasingly numerous, perhaps so numerous that they outweigh all biological animals by many orders of magnitude.
Animal activists should thus consider how their work can best help push society in directions to make it more likely that our descendants will take humane measures to reduce digital suffering. Far-future speculations should be combined with short-run measurements when assessing an animal charity’s overall impact….
Scenarios in which machines supplant biological life may sound preposterous, perhaps because they are common tropes in science fiction. But from a more distant perspective, a transition of power toward machines seems almost inevitable at some point unless technological progress permanently stagnates, because the history of life on Earth is a history of one species being displaced by another.
Evolved human brains are far from optimally efficient, and so seem likely to be displaced unless special effort is taken to prevent this. Even if biological humans remain, it’s plausible they would make heavy use of machine agents to spread to the stars in ways that are dangerous or impossible for collections of cells like us.
An essay on British Cookery. Evidently for reasons unknown it was decided not to publish it. I guess he wasn’t a good advocate of British tucker. Interesting what was eaten in pre obesity crisis days. The class struggle with a sense of humour.
Seriously frightening rates of foetal abnormalities…..
Ten percent for birth ‘defects’….”spina bifida (where the bones and membranes around the spine do not develop properly)
face and skull malformations (including cleft palate)
malformations of the limbs, heart, kidney, urinary tract and sexual organs. ”
…and a whopping 40% for neurodevelopmental disorders.
“The risk of birth defects associated with valproate, marketed as Epilim, Depakine, Depakote and Stavzor among other names, has been known since the 1980s, especially for spina bifida.
In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) issued an alert earlier this month saying valproate should only be given to girls and women of childbearing age under specialist supervision and only when other medications had been found not to work.
According to the new report by France’s National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM), between 2150 and 4100 children suffered severe malformations linked to the drug.
“The study confirms the highly teratogenic [capable of causing birth defects] nature of valproate,” Mahmoud Zureik, ANSM’s scientific director and co-author of the report, told AFP news agency.
“The figure of about 3000 severe malformations is very high.”
Types of birth defects attributed to the drug include spina bifida – which occurs when a section of the spinal column does not form properly – and defects of the heart and genital organs.
The risk of autism and developmental problems was also found to be higher, and will be explored in a follow-up report due later this year.”
Uncontrolled epilepsy and mood disorder are more harmfull than Sodiun Valpoate.
Anyone contemplating a pregnacy while taking any medications need to consult a medical practitioner. To promote a view that is anti medication is akin to antivacination.
Psych Nurse. Didja actually read Medsafe’s notice? Up there. Just put your wee cursor thingy over the shorter bit of blue text and click.
Epilim has been upgraded (for want of a better expression) from ‘not recommended to be taken during pregnancy’ to ‘don’t give to women of childbearing age unless they are using fail safe contraception.’
And for very good reason. This is thalidomide territory.
Sodium valpoate is safer than the alternatives,no one should stop their medication without medical advice, pregnancy and Epilepsy/mood disorder can be safely managed. Whats not needed is scaremongering from the ignorant.
Thanjks Psych Nurse
Your info sounds worthy of note. And shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand by any antis burdened with prejudice – pre-judging that is!
There are good landlords out there….my daughter today told me her landlord for the past few years has not only refunded their bond with no quibbles BUT given them some additional hundreds for being good tenants….what can you say.
Last couple I had were pretty good, They trusted that me and my ‘lady friend’ took care of the properties they rented to us so never inspected, let us have pets, and were even reasonably tolerant of the little bit of growth and clutter we had (long story).
They had their moments when they would revert to ‘evil landlord’ type, but 99% of the time they were good landlords.
We did that for our excellent tenant, when we got a buyer for my Mother’s unit.
After all she had to find somewhere else to live, and that was from a small pool in Waihi. There are good tenants and landlords.
Events in India are taking a worrying turn.
If the world’s largest democracy goes rogue, then the chances of nuclear war increase significantly.
It would be great to have a post on this subject and get everyone’s expert opinion on this.
Our throw away culture.
12 years to go.
And we are not learning.
There are so many easy solutions.
We need to act quickly.
A Wellington man was shocked by the “sea of plastic” left behind after Eminem’s concert at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
Peter Steele was at the concert with friends and took a photo of the mess left behind by the 46,000 attendees.
“I just saw a sea of plastic, it looked like it had hailed,” he said.
“The conversation just started with ‘what a mess, what pigs, where do they go, that’s appalling.'”
Steele said so much fuss was being made over plastic bags at supermarkets when massive amounts of plastic cups were being used at such events. He believed there would have been at least 100,000 cups.
The man weeps “It’s absolutely hell. Why are they doing this to us. The busier you are the less you earn.” Locked into contracts that limit their income. They have been in despair for 10-15 years, even since 1993. Scanning a parcel earns them 37 cents!
“They [Australian government] should be ashamed of themselves”.
by Daphna Whitmore Twitter and Facebook shutting down Trump’s accounts after his supporters stormed Capitol Hill is old news now but the debates continue over whether the actions against Trump are a good thing or not. Those in favour of banning Trump say Twitter and Facebook are private companies and ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Democrats now control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives for the first time in a decade, albeit with razor thin Congressional majorities. The last time, in the 111th Congress (2009-2011), House Democrats passed a carbon cap and trade bill, but it died ...
Session thirty-three was highly abbreviated, via having to move house in a short space of time. Oh well. The party decided to ignore the tree-monster and continue the attack on the Giant Troll. Tarsin – flying on a giant summoned bat – dumped some high-grade oil over the ...
Last night I stayed up till 3am just to see then-President Donald Trump leave the White House, get on a plane, and fly off to Florida, hopefully never to return. And when I woke up this morning, America was different. Not perfect, because it never was. Probably not even good, ...
Watching today’s inauguration of Joe Biden as the United States’ 46th president, there’s not a lot in common with the inauguration of Donald Trump just four destructive years ago. Where Trump warned of carnage, Biden dared to hope for unity and decency. But the one place they converge is that ...
Dan FalkBritons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...
Sara LutermanGrowing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...
Doug JohnsonThe alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
With criticism from National piling on over the property market, the prime minister has detailed when the government will make housing announcements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco Rizzi, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Western Australia Some Australians could be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine within weeks. Amid the continued spread of the virus and emergence of highly contagious variants, the federal government has accelerated the start of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Australia’s Threatened Species Strategy — a five-year plan for protecting our imperilled species and ecosystems — fizzled to an end last year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Lecturer, General Dentist & PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.Bananas are one of the ...
Tackling topics such as rugby and body image, Stuff’s latest podcast shines a much-needed light on Aotearoa’s complex relationship with masculinity, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black.I wasn’t sure what to think when two episodes of the new local podcast He’ll Be Right landed in ...
The Rainforest Alliance reveals that 68%* of Kiwis say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more conscious about environmental and social sustainability issues. Seventy two percent* state that they have been trying to make more sustainable purchasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has raised concerns that Australia’s proposed News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code could fundamentally break the internet as we know it. His concerns ...
ANALYSIS:By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path Two weeks after the storming of the US Capitol by the followers of his predecessor, in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer, Creative Writing & English Literature, University of Southern Queensland Described as “the world’s greatest storyteller”, Roald Dahl is frequently ranked as the best children’s author of all time by teachers, authors and librarians. However, the new film adaptation of ...
Peak housing body, Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) welcomes the updated Public Housing Plan announced today by Minister Woods, and the commitment by this Government to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. The 8,000 additional homes are a significant ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
Two of three ministerial statements from the Beehive have been released in the name of the PM over the past two days. The more important, insofar as it involves political action that will affect the wellbeing of significant numbers of Kiwis, was the release of the government’s Public Housing Plan ...
Jacinda Ardern has reminded Labour MPs "ongoing vigilance" will be required in 2021 to avoid another Covid outbreak, admitting she held her breath over the summer break. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first.Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on ...
Nuclear weapons states and their allies risk reputational ruin if they flout a new UN Treaty, Carolina Panico argues The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force this month, on January 22, 2021, turning nuclear weapons into illegal objects. It is an achievement that ...
How does one turn into a rabid extremist over the description of a children’s bike? Emily Writes looks at Facebook comments so you don’t have to.You’ve been there, I know it. You’re scrolling along, trying to avoid QAnon conspiracy theories and Trump apocalypse memes when a story catches your eye. ...
Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and many people across America and throughout the world will consequently be breathing more easily. But while the erratic, unpredictable and irresponsible years of the Trump Presidency may be over, ...
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. ...
The Taxpayers Union should be aware of the law and of the history of ACC. The ACC is a legal system introduced in 1974 to replace the common law right of accident victims to sue for damages for personal injury sustained as a result of negligence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Terrorism, political extremism, Donald Trump, social media and the phenomenon of “cancel culture” are confronting journalists with a range of agonising free-speech dilemmas to which there are no easy answers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney You’ve just come from your monthly GP appointment with a new script for your ongoing medical condition. But your local pharmacy is out of stock of your usual medicine. Your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney On Wednesday this week, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured at at 415 parts per million (ppm). The level is the highest in human history, and is growing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington It might be summer in New Zealand but we’re in for some wild weather this week with forecasts of heavy wind and rain, and a plunge in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Last week, the McIver’s Ladies Baths in Sydney came under fire for their (since removed) policy stating “only transgender women who’ve undergone a gender reassignment surgery are allowed entry”. The policy was ...
There are good grounds for optimism after the guardrails of American democracy held firm through to Joe Biden's inauguration today as President, writes Stephen Hoadley Pessimism abounds about the perilous condition of American democracy. Commentators and headline writers proffer memes such as ‘broken and divided nation’, ‘the threat from within’. ...
*This article was originally appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Donald Trump will forever be remembered as the president who was impeached twice - and for his rhetoric that struck a chord so deep in America that it will take years to dissipate. Donald Trump leaves Washington with the lowest approval ...
A new plan shows how and where the Government will build 8,000 new state housing places it funded in Budget 2020, Marc Daalder reports Jacinda Ardern has kicked off the political year with a major announcement, promising hundreds of new state housing places in regional centres across the country. With ...
This is the full transcript of President Joe Biden's speech after being sworn in at his inauguration this morning in Washington DC Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America's day. This ...
Analysis: President Donald Trump has left the White House, and his deputy chief of staff confirms he is withdrawing his candidacy to lead the OECD. New Zealander Christopher Liddell withdrew his nomination to be Secretary-General of the powerful 37-member OECD and was one of the last members of the Trump Administration to depart ...
Kate Wills is facing stage four cancer with the same fierce approach she takes into her ocean swimming - never say can't. Even on the mornings Kate Wills feels wretched from her fortnightly chemotherapy treatment, she drags herself up at 5am and goes swimming. “I have to. It’s my job – to ...
Some costs associated with meetings speak for themselves, others are less conspicuous. Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper lays those costs out, making suggestions on where we can rein them in. Meetings – when last did we count the costs? And so it’s back to work and one of the ...
Andrew Paul Wood assesses the best-selling picture book by Grahame Sydney It's no great secret the commercially very successful Grahame Sydney has a long-standing beef that his work doesn’t receive more critical and institutional approval. I sympathise about the lack of critical attention, but I can understand why. The Discourse™ ...
This story was produced in collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. It was originally published by Public Integrity, Mother Jones, The Arizona Republic and Orlando Sentinel. It is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the ...
Analysis: It has been easy to ignore anyone daring to criticise or even question any aspect of the government’s Covid-19 response. Their voices have rarely been heard, and when they have been raised they have been quickly and decisively howled down by the favoured coterie of academics. ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US presidential inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated through Wednesday and Thursday. The inauguration ceremony begins at 5.15am Thursday, NZ time, and Joe Biden takes the oath of office around 6am. 7.25am: And what about Trump?In the early hours of this morning, NZ ...
In 10 x 100, we survey a group of 100 people via Stickybeak and ask them 10 questions. Last month we quizzed Wellingtonians. Today, we ask NZ drivers how they’ve found a holiday period without international tourists, and what they get up to while they’re on the road.Across Aotearoa roads ...
Emmanuel Macron's anti-separatist policies have garnered backlash from the international Muslim community. Now, a global coalition has complained to the UN. ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they go on an odyssey of women’s rage, and find out how we can channel our anger into good. First published September 15, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by ...
By Lorraine Ecarma in Cebu City The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) will continue to stand against any threats to human rights, chancellor Clement Camposano has declared in response to the termination of a long-standing accord preventing military incursion on campus. In a Facebook post, Camposano said the academic ...
ANALYSIS:By Jennifer S. Hunt, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit different. If the last US presidential inauguration in 2017 debuted the phrase “alternative facts”, the ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby In spite of Papua New Guinea’s mandatory mask-wearing requirement under the National Pandemic Act 2020, many public servants attending a dedication service in Port Moresby have failed to wear one. They were issued masks before entering the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex but took ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University How do scabs form? — Talila, aged 8 Great question, Talila! Our skin has many different jobs. One is to act as a barrier, protecting us from harmful things in the ...
US President Donald Trump is pardoning former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who is accused of fraud in a case involving funds for the border wall. ...
Joel Little with Lorde, Dera Meelan with Church & AP, Josh Fountain with Maala and Randa and Benee – producers make good songs great. Now a new fund from NZ on Air is putting the focus on them.Six months ago it looked like the music industry was on the brink ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia On average, one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight in Australia. Last week, three children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were ...
This commendable and realistic decision again underlines that it is the police, not government, who are largely responsible for the reduction in cannabis prosecutions over the past 15 years, writes Russell Brown.The news that New Zealand police have discontinued the annual Helicopter Recovery Operation, which has, each summer for more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, NZ time. Reach me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz.4.00pm: What will Trump be doing tomorrow?It’s pretty well known by now that outgoing president Donald Trump intends to throw out the rulebook when it comes to ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling out Mayor Phil Goff for his undignified comment that the claim made by Councillor Greg Sayers asking why Auckland Council is funding yoga classes is “bullshit.” Yesterday, Councillor Greg Sayers penned ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At 4am Thursday AEDT, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States, replacing Donald Trump and Mike Pence. What follows is ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. New Zealanders flocked to beaches and lakes this summer, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap left by international tourists in other regions. The tourism industry is struggling to fill a $6 billion hole left by international tourists ...
Summer reissue: Chef Monique Fiso joins us for a chat about Hiakai – her acclaimed Wellington restaurant, and the title of her stunning new book.First published November 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn ...
A new trough was brought to our attention this morning, although ethnicity will limit the numbers of eligible applicants. If you are non-Maori, it looks like you shouldn’t bother getting into the queue – but who knows?We learned of the trough from the Scoop website, where the Kapiti ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs economies up to US$50 billion globally each year, and makes up to one-fifth of the global catch. It’s a huge problem not only for the ...
Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. ...
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing.Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it ...
A new report from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) highlights the realities and challenges disabled people faced during the COVID-19 emergency. The report, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic, Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika ...
The Maritime Union is questioning the reasons provided for ongoing delays at the Ports of Auckland. Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says there is a need for an honest conversation about what has gone wrong at the ...
As New Zealand faces a dire shortage of veterinarians, a petition has been launched urging the Government to reclassify veterinarians as critical workers so we can Get Vets into NZ. “New Zealand desperately needs veterinarians from overseas to counter ...
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection. At the upcoming meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and Netsafe are urging parents and caregivers to be mindful of the online content their tamariki may be consuming in the lead up to the inauguration of president-elect of the United States of America Joe Biden ...
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this ...
The Game Animal Council (GAC) is applying its expertise in the use of firearms for hunting to work alongside Police, other agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the compliance provisions for hunters and other firearms users. The GAC has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Verica Rupar, Professor, Auckland University of Technology “The lie outlasts the liar,” writes historian Timothy Snyder, referring to outgoing president Donald Trump and his contribution to the “post-truth” era in the US. Indeed, the mass rejection of reason that erupted in a ...
The internet ain’t what it used to be, thanks to privacy issues, data leaks, censorship and hate speech. But a group of New Zealanders are working on a way to give power back to the people. A flood of headlines over the last week made it clear: the internet has become ...
“You liar Donald, I have never had weight loss surgery…………”
Will no one rid me of this corpulent cheat?
“How dare he declare a state of emergency before me.”
Donald needs to take a Paula’s 13th step and give himself over to Her higher power.
And so shall he be comfortable in His own skin.
She studied him with a basilik stare.
I must have a look on youtube to see if she has had a stare-out with Putin. They would be well matched.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/04/the-killing-times-the-massacres-of-aboriginal-people-australia-must-confront
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/04/as-the-toll-of-australias-frontier-brutality-keeps-climbing-truth-telling-is-long-overdue
It seems fitting that the Manchester Guardian, true to the spirit of Peterloo and Tom Paine, is publishing this material.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterloo_Massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterloo_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Paine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_History_Museum
Rehabilitating Tom Paine, bit by bony bit.
http://www.mindspring.com/~phila1/nyt330.htm
I believe that an election is imminent in Australia.
Conservative’s say the wackiest things….
OACDS
Jerry Falwell would go nuclear if Alexandria interfered with his cows.
And as for anti-environmentalists understanding about grass – if they can read this book they might learn more about it than they want to know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Grass
by John Christopher
Scientists have been telling us stuff for centuries and we have ignored
them.
Hugh Hindmarsh Atkinson died in England December 2018 aged 89.
Atkinson went overseas to finish his studies and did many things before he become Chairman of the European Space Agency in his later years. Among his appointments:
… He continued to work at Harwell for a few years before shifting to the adjacent Rutherford Laboratory, remaining there for seven years as head of the general physics group….
During his years in Whitehall, he provided advice on topics ranging from the supersonic Concorde aircraft through to environmental matters. In one report he wrote that the countryside was being “destroyed” by farmers ripping out hedgerows; the Ministry of Agriculture insisted instead it say the landscape was being “modified”
(He noted the countryside in UK being ‘destroyed’ in one report written between 1968-1972.)
So is AOC going to **personally** go to JFJ’s farm with her cattle truck and take his cows?
Jeer sounds like a terrorist.
LMAO
Sure – they’re mad, but they have most of the privately owned guns.
The National Defense Authorization Act (2012) has been interpreted by some people to override the Posse Comitatus Act (1878). If so, Federal military forces could be legally deployed against mad, armed to the teeth conservatives opposing a Sanders presidency. Possibly. Fun times ahead for the “great Satan”.
Disgraced director jumps before she is pushed: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/383915/dame-jenny-shipley-steps-down-as-director-of-china-construction-bank
Another miniature horse dies. This time stolen and found dead with a broken neck in New Plymouth. Copy cat crime or just coincidence?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/03/owner-of-miniature-horse-heartbroken-after-it-was-found-with-broken-neck.html
One is a random act.
Two is coincidence.
Three (lets hope it doesn’t happen) is highly suspicious.
I had three pets who suffered unaccounted for injuries on consecutive occasions. Two died and the third one was saved. My vet was certain the two dogs were not accidents. The third was a cat.
My heart goes out to the owners. I know what they are going through.
Sickening.
Does anyone know what the possibilities are of having a motion-sensor camera, a pinhole camera, a thin line of wire alerting on movement so that something can be done to prevent tragedy or catch the perp? It could be the same person, I would think a man, with a fetish and hate connected with this type of horse. Is there a connection between the two horses. A broken neck – was that through falling over a cliff after being chased? It couldn’t be done by human strength surely.
Another thought has occurred to me. The rodeos have been stopped and this has resulted in anger from the men involved. There is a lot of anger about SAFE’s work helping animals also. The sort of people who own these small horses might be seen as those interfering so and sos. Having a wild ride on one of their horses, giving it pain to make it buck and keeping it going till it falls down would be a possibility to those of callous disposition.
We know that they exist out there; men who won’t limit themselves, who turn vicious when they are denied something, pour their hate and anger on to a chosen or even random victim. Injuring and killing children, women, dogs, horses, seagulls, seals, and also other men is seen by the perpetrator as dishing out punishment that is justified. I write sometimes about soul. Trying to keep one in a good state is probably the basis of managing to stay mentally healthy. I don’t believe in blanket forgiveness, but I do attempt understanding.
Or it’s a nasty vicious kid with shitty parents.
Thinkpiece on thinking….. Getting into totally freaky objective thinking….possible….!
https://animalcharityevaluators.org/blog/why-digital-sentience-is-relevant-to-animal-activists/
When aiming to reduce animal suffering, we often focus on the short-term, tangible impacts of our work, but longer-term spillover effects on the far future are also very relevant in expectation.
As machine intelligence becomes increasingly dominant in coming decades and centuries, digital forms of non-human sentience may become increasingly numerous, perhaps so numerous that they outweigh all biological animals by many orders of magnitude.
Animal activists should thus consider how their work can best help push society in directions to make it more likely that our descendants will take humane measures to reduce digital suffering. Far-future speculations should be combined with short-run measurements when assessing an animal charity’s overall impact….
Scenarios in which machines supplant biological life may sound preposterous, perhaps because they are common tropes in science fiction. But from a more distant perspective, a transition of power toward machines seems almost inevitable at some point unless technological progress permanently stagnates, because the history of life on Earth is a history of one species being displaced by another.
Evolved human brains are far from optimally efficient, and so seem likely to be displaced unless special effort is taken to prevent this. Even if biological humans remain, it’s plausible they would make heavy use of machine agents to spread to the stars in ways that are dangerous or impossible for collections of cells like us.
Found this on an old antique apple site….
https://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/policy-insight-research/defence-english-cooking
George Orwell. Commissioned by the British Council, 1946. Unpublished. © the estate of the late Sonia Brownell Orwell. Text is unedited from original typed manuscript.
An essay on British Cookery. Evidently for reasons unknown it was decided not to publish it. I guess he wasn’t a good advocate of British tucker. Interesting what was eaten in pre obesity crisis days. The class struggle with a sense of humour.
Nice!
His wife wrote a cookbook too: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Victuals-Inquiry-Modern-Production/dp/0701108223
Thanks for that read, Glenn.
Delightful.
Dated today from the Misery of Health’s webpage……
https://medsafe.govt.nz/safety/Alerts/Epilim.asp
Seriously frightening rates of foetal abnormalities…..
Ten percent for birth ‘defects’….”spina bifida (where the bones and membranes around the spine do not develop properly)
face and skull malformations (including cleft palate)
malformations of the limbs, heart, kidney, urinary tract and sexual organs. ”
…and a whopping 40% for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Epilim used to treat seizures and bipolar.
This is further to a Natrad report from nearly a year ago….https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/329200/research-confirms-epilepsy-drug-birth-defects
“The risk of birth defects associated with valproate, marketed as Epilim, Depakine, Depakote and Stavzor among other names, has been known since the 1980s, especially for spina bifida.
In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) issued an alert earlier this month saying valproate should only be given to girls and women of childbearing age under specialist supervision and only when other medications had been found not to work.
According to the new report by France’s National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM), between 2150 and 4100 children suffered severe malformations linked to the drug.
“The study confirms the highly teratogenic [capable of causing birth defects] nature of valproate,” Mahmoud Zureik, ANSM’s scientific director and co-author of the report, told AFP news agency.
“The figure of about 3000 severe malformations is very high.”
Types of birth defects attributed to the drug include spina bifida – which occurs when a section of the spinal column does not form properly – and defects of the heart and genital organs.
The risk of autism and developmental problems was also found to be higher, and will be explored in a follow-up report due later this year.”
So slow to push the panic button.
This is a ministry in the gutter.
Run by ideological hacks and careerist.
Uncontrolled epilepsy and mood disorder are more harmfull than Sodiun Valpoate.
Anyone contemplating a pregnacy while taking any medications need to consult a medical practitioner. To promote a view that is anti medication is akin to antivacination.
Psych Nurse. Didja actually read Medsafe’s notice? Up there. Just put your wee cursor thingy over the shorter bit of blue text and click.
Epilim has been upgraded (for want of a better expression) from ‘not recommended to be taken during pregnancy’ to ‘don’t give to women of childbearing age unless they are using fail safe contraception.’
And for very good reason. This is thalidomide territory.
So, please stop with the antivaxxer slurs, eh?
Sodium valpoate is safer than the alternatives,no one should stop their medication without medical advice, pregnancy and Epilepsy/mood disorder can be safely managed. Whats not needed is scaremongering from the ignorant.
Thanjks Psych Nurse
Your info sounds worthy of note. And shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand by any antis burdened with prejudice – pre-judging that is!
So. Psych Nurse. Medsafe is scaremongering?
The research referenced was done by the ignorant?
To the point.
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2019/03/04/in-defence-of-lesbian-rights/?unapproved=9052&moderation-hash=6b3459325f95454acbe1e50864b21b8c#comment-9052
There are good landlords out there….my daughter today told me her landlord for the past few years has not only refunded their bond with no quibbles BUT given them some additional hundreds for being good tenants….what can you say.
I agree, there are good landlords out there.
Last couple I had were pretty good, They trusted that me and my ‘lady friend’ took care of the properties they rented to us so never inspected, let us have pets, and were even reasonably tolerant of the little bit of growth and clutter we had (long story).
They had their moments when they would revert to ‘evil landlord’ type, but 99% of the time they were good landlords.
We did that for our excellent tenant, when we got a buyer for my Mother’s unit.
After all she had to find somewhere else to live, and that was from a small pool in Waihi. There are good tenants and landlords.
Events in India are taking a worrying turn.
If the world’s largest democracy goes rogue, then the chances of nuclear war increase significantly.
It would be great to have a post on this subject and get everyone’s expert opinion on this.
https://eurasiafuture.com/2019/03/03/indias-ruling-party-just-implied-that-the-oppositions-dissent-is-treasonous/
One for the weather bookmarks.
https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;
Our throw away culture.
12 years to go.
And we are not learning.
There are so many easy solutions.
We need to act quickly.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12209362
Went to WOMAD last year. All the containers were compostable. Not a speck of rubbish in sight. It can be done
Across the ditch…this is pretty disgusting. Aussie govt screwing postmasters and running them into the ground. What is in the water over there? Grrr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s7_AFD-NNE
The man weeps “It’s absolutely hell. Why are they doing this to us. The busier you are the less you earn.” Locked into contracts that limit their income. They have been in despair for 10-15 years, even since 1993. Scanning a parcel earns them 37 cents!
“They [Australian government] should be ashamed of themselves”.