Daily review 30/03/2021

17 comments on “Daily review 30/03/2021 ”

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1. greywarshark 1

   30 March 2021 at 6:08 pm

   Possibly everyone knows about Julian Assange.

   However in case – Mar.27/21 Julian Assange could finally walk free—if we seize the moment

   In the United States, moves are afoot across civil society, the press and the legal profession to bring this dangerous episode to a close. Organisations with global reach, including Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, have recognised the threat of this prosecution and stepped up a lobbying campaign to ensure the Biden administration drops the case. There is renewed energy around the world, from the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance—Assange’s union here in Australia—to the remarkable work the US-based Courage Foundation is doing to help focus the mind of the incoming attorney general. Now is the time to raise our voices, to demand lawmakers here urge their American counterparts to let Julian Assange walk free and reunite with his family after more than ten years.

   https://arena.org.au/julian-assange-could-finally-walk-free-if-we-seize-the-moment/
   .

   Mar.2/21 Dr Paul Arnell is expert on extradition law from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen – he explains why the Julian Assange extradition appeal has huge implications for media freedom in the UK.
   https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/julian-assange-extradition-appeal/

   and

   Jan.4/21 UK judge refuses US extradition of WikiLeaks founder Assange
   https://www.arabnews.com/node/1787026/media
   • Treetop 1.1

     30 March 2021 at 6:53 pm

     I saw the series on Watergate which finished last Saturday. Ford pardoned Nixon. I would like to see a similar outcome for Assange.
2. aj 2

   30 March 2021 at 7:03 pm

   Presidential pardons seem reserved for the truly despicable types. Nothing to do with justice, truth, or humanity.
3. Muttonbird 3

   30 March 2021 at 7:38 pm

   Just build more houses, right? Not so fast.

   The relentless sprawl into Sydney’s west is far from creating an Australian suburban dream, more an Australian nightmare, an academic says.

   Poorly designed, crammed-in homes in new developments west of the city are reaching hazardous temperatures, Sebastian Pfautsch says.

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018789468/sydney-s-western-suburbs-australian-nightmare
4. gsays 4

   30 March 2021 at 8:35 pm

   Last night in an ED, there were 23 people waiting for in-patient beds, in a full hospital, in a department with 23 beds.

   Where are the nurses unions in the last week/10 days?

   Their silence is deafening.

   In case you weren't aware (I will wager most aren't), the nurses are in a wage talks.

   Time and time again I get the feeling NZNO and The Nurses Society are too familiar with this government. No boat rocking in this Covid world.
5. Muttonbird 5

   30 March 2021 at 8:52 pm

   Dr. Shane on fluoridation:

   “I don't think the needs wants and aspirations of local people are trumped by the science of fluoridation,” Reti said.

   https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300256270/national-concerned-with-government-move-to-centralise-drinking-water-fluoridation-power

   Collins and Reti. Two crackpots in charge of the National Party.

   Long may it continue.
   • McFlock 5.1

     30 March 2021 at 9:05 pm

     Reality. He thinks needs wants and aspirations trump reality.

     Religion is one thing – there's usually an historic text and whole social power structures to reinforce it.

     But there's no religious prohibition against fluoridation AFAIK.
   • Incognito 5.2

     30 March 2021 at 9:28 pm

     “Our community places a great deal of store on autonomy”, says University of Auckland philosophy professor Tim Dare, who researches medical ethics.

     https://www.newsroom.co.nz/podcast-card/the-big-change-over-fluoride-dosing
     • Muttonbird 5.2.1

       30 March 2021 at 9:54 pm

       When the medical community places a great deal of store on autonomy they end up confusing the issue for many ordinary people.

       I remember it well. When children are born, in bending over backwards to explain the voluntary nature of immunisation, hospitals and baby clinics dilute the message by introducing uncertainty.

       On important medical and health issues, most people want decent and strong advice, not a lecture on how it's up to them.
       • Incognito 5.2.1.1

         30 March 2021 at 10:02 pm

         Informed consent must be an alien concept to you but most people I know like to have things explained to them in a clear impartial manner and then make a decision. When they need or ask for “decent and strong advice” it becomes an influenced decision, at best, and it strays into ethically dubious territory.
         • Muttonbird 5.2.1.1.1

           30 March 2021 at 10:19 pm

           Don't be paranoid.

           Upon reading the pamphlet information and asking the professionals what they think and or recommend, suddenly a cone of your 'ethics silence' descends and you are left second guessing what to do. This was a decision which no-one helped you with because they couldn't possibly say anything to influence you.

           Like I say, offering too much autonomy unnecessarily promotes skepticism and fear.
           • Incognito 5.2.1.1.1.1

             30 March 2021 at 10:47 pm

             Sigh

             We’re talking about mature adults here, aren’t we? People who make decisions daily, big and small, yes? And your argument seems to be that they cannot handle and digest information specifically designed to help them make an informed decision, yes? Your argument seems to be that people like other people to tell them what is best for them, to make the decision for them, like their nanny used to do when they were young, ignorant, and innocent, yes? In other words, the Team of Five Million is really a bunch of scared, frightened, unsure pre-schoolers who cannot make a decision to save themselves, and cannot figure out whether fluoride in the drinking water is going to improve dental health or turn them into braindead zombies, with nice shiny teeth, yes?

             This convo is futile, it’s like talking to a 5-year old, goodbye 🙁
             • Muttonbird …

               30 March 2021 at 10:55 pm

               You should try not attacking other commenters, mate.

               I was explaining what happened when we became parents. The professionals were at pains to hand out pamphlets but not talk directly to people about immunisation even when asked.

               I’m saying a little more impressing of the importance of immunisation wouldn’t go amiss.

               But then perhaps you are an anti-vaxxer and that’s why you are so upset?
       • Rosemary McDonald 5.2.1.2

         30 March 2021 at 10:57 pm

         On important medical and health issues, …

         … one should do one's own research and trust no-one. Until they have earned it.

         The medical profession is heavily littered with incompetents.

         I would make it a compulsory part of any medical training for candidates to spend about 16 hours reading these…

         … https://www.hdc.org.nz/decisions/search-decisions/

         …most people want decent and strong advice,

         That whole 'Doctor knows best' paternalism is just about gasping it's last.
         • Muttonbird 5.2.1.2.1

           30 March 2021 at 11:07 pm

           No-one mentioned male doctors, Rosemary. In fact none of them were male in the case I am referring to, my family's own.
   • Gabby 5.3

     31 March 2021 at 5:34 pm

     Who aspires to a faceful of rotten teeth?
6. David 6

   30 March 2021 at 9:27 pm

   Something a bit different from my normal post.

   if you have a spare 45 minutes can I recommend the following recording of The Waste Land. It’s the 100th anniversary of the work next year, yet it remains completely relevant given the current global malaise.

   https://jeremyirons.net/2012/03/28/jeremy-irons-reads-ts-eliots-the-waste-land-bbc-radio-4/

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