When we are arrested and charged with a crime we have the expectation that we will be promptly put before a court and the matter decided. If we are convicted we will suffer some sort of punishment, but if we are found not guilty we can resume our former lifestyle.
That is not the present experience here in New South Wales. It could be months - or even years before we see the inside of a courtroom. Even worse, our liberty all depends on the matter of bail. If bail is refused we become a " remand " prisoner and languish in a state prison until the case is put on a court docket for trial. In many cases the time served will be far greater than the sentence for whatever we are accused.
The workload imposed on the state's District Court caused a senior judge with twenty years experience to warn that she feared for the welfare of her colleagues on the bench. If pressure was not lifted it was likely that some would be driven to suicide as had happened in Victoria. The NSW Criminal court dealt with 3023 more defendants in 2017 than the previous year - according to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics. The police had gained tough new powers and more sophisticated crime fighting technology had increased the numbers of people charged with serious offences.
The NSW Attorney General has announced that seven new District Court judges will be appointed, bringing the number of permanent judges in this state to 75, the highest ever. One of the limitations this will expose is the number of courts available in which to conduct sittings. Additional judges would need a four year funding package to pay for the judges, Crown prosecutors and senior lawyers at Legal Aid that would combine to meet the increased cost involved.
Unfortunately, the legal system operates on what used to be termed " bankers hours ". Sittings rarely commence before 10 am and conclude by mid afternoon. With extra judges we need to consider night courts and courts that continue through the weekends. The courts are specially constructed buildings and we need to extend their operating hours to bring the justice system up to speed.
More importantly, those long delays are not delivering justice. The memories of witnesses fade over time and testimony delivered years later is often unconvincing. This is exacerbated by the legal profession and their habit of " judge shopping " - seeking delay to get the case off the docket of an unsympathetic judge and reallocated in the hope of a more favourable ending.
This ponderous weight of the law is reflective of an earlier, gentler age when the courts ambled along at their own pace. We live in a faster commercial world and any form of career interruption can see operational efficiency quickly stagnate. There is a need for court matter to be settled - quickly. The increase in judge numbers will be a big improvement, provided that courts can be found for additional sittings and these slotted into the judicial calendars.
Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
School Zone Safety !
School zone speed limits were imposed to calm traffic in areas where vulnerable little children were at risk crossing roads and making their way to and from school. Most people agree with their necessity, but recent surveys show an appalling disregard of these speed limits being obeyed.
Speed surveys show that fewer than fifty percent of drivers comply with the 40 kph limit in school zones and of these 28% travel at up to 10 kpk over that speed limit - with an additional five percent doing more than 10 kph. In fact, one in every twenty drivers passing through school speed zones is travelling faster than that 40 kph limit.
The obvious answer is to concentrate mobile speed cameras in school zones,. but a mix of the laws requiring signage where speed cameras are used and the general congestion in school zones makes this impractical. Statistics show that only 0.1 percent of drivers passing a mobile speed camera receive a fine - a hit rate one in every thousand, such is the visibility in which these devices are presented to the public.
Driver behaviour other than speed infringement in school zones is also risky. Twenty thousand drivers were booked for disobeying a " No stopping " or " No parking " sign and another host of drivers were fined for using mobile phones where vigilance for little kids in imperative. In an alarming number of cases,. the culprits are the parents of the very children these laws are enacted to protect.
Another infringement being widely disobeyed is the practice of picking up or putting down passengers in bus zones. It is essential that buses park correctly at the kerb and if this is prevented by cars blocking access many passengers get off the moment the bus comes to a stop, often in surrounding traffic movement. That empty bus zone is very tempting to parents needing to drop off or pick up children in the peak traffic flow.
It seems that fear of an infringement fine is losing its impact. Many peopled now regard fines as part of the tax that applies to the transport age and have more fear of the demerit points loss. The car is so important to the modern lifestyle that license loss rarely stops the unlicensed driver from getting back behind the wheel. The incidence of unregistered cars and unlicensed drivers seems to be ever increasing.
The only thing that seems to deter driving offences generally is the sight of a marked police car monitoring traffic. That is both a time consuming and expensive way of achieving traffic obedience, but it is the only way we have at our disposal to achieve that objective. If the vast police car fleet was mandated to be on the road daily during the morning and afternoon school speed zone period we would see a marked improvement in driver behaviour.
What is presently lacking is the " fear factor " !
Speed surveys show that fewer than fifty percent of drivers comply with the 40 kph limit in school zones and of these 28% travel at up to 10 kpk over that speed limit - with an additional five percent doing more than 10 kph. In fact, one in every twenty drivers passing through school speed zones is travelling faster than that 40 kph limit.
The obvious answer is to concentrate mobile speed cameras in school zones,. but a mix of the laws requiring signage where speed cameras are used and the general congestion in school zones makes this impractical. Statistics show that only 0.1 percent of drivers passing a mobile speed camera receive a fine - a hit rate one in every thousand, such is the visibility in which these devices are presented to the public.
Driver behaviour other than speed infringement in school zones is also risky. Twenty thousand drivers were booked for disobeying a " No stopping " or " No parking " sign and another host of drivers were fined for using mobile phones where vigilance for little kids in imperative. In an alarming number of cases,. the culprits are the parents of the very children these laws are enacted to protect.
Another infringement being widely disobeyed is the practice of picking up or putting down passengers in bus zones. It is essential that buses park correctly at the kerb and if this is prevented by cars blocking access many passengers get off the moment the bus comes to a stop, often in surrounding traffic movement. That empty bus zone is very tempting to parents needing to drop off or pick up children in the peak traffic flow.
It seems that fear of an infringement fine is losing its impact. Many peopled now regard fines as part of the tax that applies to the transport age and have more fear of the demerit points loss. The car is so important to the modern lifestyle that license loss rarely stops the unlicensed driver from getting back behind the wheel. The incidence of unregistered cars and unlicensed drivers seems to be ever increasing.
The only thing that seems to deter driving offences generally is the sight of a marked police car monitoring traffic. That is both a time consuming and expensive way of achieving traffic obedience, but it is the only way we have at our disposal to achieve that objective. If the vast police car fleet was mandated to be on the road daily during the morning and afternoon school speed zone period we would see a marked improvement in driver behaviour.
What is presently lacking is the " fear factor " !
Monday, 29 October 2018
The Urban Homeless !
When we think of the " homeless " people living on our streets we tend to think of the poor souls sleeping in shop doorways or eking out a living huddled under bridges or occupying a park bench. They are the people the Salvation Army and other charities try and nurture and they are high on the list for entry into emergency public housing.
Australia is fast developing a new breed of urban homeless people who are almost invisible because they have developed a camouflaged lifestyle. They are often people with a surprising amount of money at their disposal and they have used this to avoid the useless search for rental accommodation that is now family oriented. They are usually single people who have had a long rental history but now present poorly when seeking accommodation in a tightening market.
They have traded their car for a utility vehicle and purchased one of those camper homes that can fit on the tray. It is waterproof and warm - and mobile. This type of vehicle is inconspicuous in the traffic flow during the day and only brings attention when it is parked for the night, in a suburban street and more particularly in an area adjacent to a public toilet and recreational facilities. In the city, they tend to congregate in beachside suburbs.
These are people who get their food from the fast food outlets and live independently. They are often nomadic, following the sun north to avoid the southern winter and paying their way from a dwindling asset base. They often top up this base by taking seasonal jobs fruit picking and their living expenses are supplemented from a small disability pension or raiding their superannuation.
What separates them from the normal tourist flow is their avoidance of caravan parks and other paid camping grounds. This independent living makes them reliant on the sort of facilities that are free to the public such as public toilets and cold water showers, sited at beaches and communal parks. The facilities in these mobile homes are usually primitive and in some cases constitute a health hazard.
The growing numbers are creating disquiet when overnight parking displaces space usually occupied by residents who lack offstreet parking. They are legally parked but the resentment builds over issues such as rubbish dumped in the gutter or the presence of what are seen as homeless men living on the streets. In recent years, women have joined this mobile lifestyle.
This way of life is exacerbated by Australian housing prices pushing up rents and creating demand seriously exceeding supply. Families are preferred over single individuals and many people are finding that they are permanently excluded from successfully obtaining a place they can call "home ".
This is a growing phenomenon and the providers of public facilities are under pressure to make changes. Many toilet and shower facilities at beaches are now barred and locked overnight. The provision of public toilets dwindle alarmingly at night when the pubs close. This will come at a cost as such action drives desperate people to use parks and gardens.
When we agitate to restrict public facilities, we should remember that such action does come with consequences !
Australia is fast developing a new breed of urban homeless people who are almost invisible because they have developed a camouflaged lifestyle. They are often people with a surprising amount of money at their disposal and they have used this to avoid the useless search for rental accommodation that is now family oriented. They are usually single people who have had a long rental history but now present poorly when seeking accommodation in a tightening market.
They have traded their car for a utility vehicle and purchased one of those camper homes that can fit on the tray. It is waterproof and warm - and mobile. This type of vehicle is inconspicuous in the traffic flow during the day and only brings attention when it is parked for the night, in a suburban street and more particularly in an area adjacent to a public toilet and recreational facilities. In the city, they tend to congregate in beachside suburbs.
These are people who get their food from the fast food outlets and live independently. They are often nomadic, following the sun north to avoid the southern winter and paying their way from a dwindling asset base. They often top up this base by taking seasonal jobs fruit picking and their living expenses are supplemented from a small disability pension or raiding their superannuation.
What separates them from the normal tourist flow is their avoidance of caravan parks and other paid camping grounds. This independent living makes them reliant on the sort of facilities that are free to the public such as public toilets and cold water showers, sited at beaches and communal parks. The facilities in these mobile homes are usually primitive and in some cases constitute a health hazard.
The growing numbers are creating disquiet when overnight parking displaces space usually occupied by residents who lack offstreet parking. They are legally parked but the resentment builds over issues such as rubbish dumped in the gutter or the presence of what are seen as homeless men living on the streets. In recent years, women have joined this mobile lifestyle.
This way of life is exacerbated by Australian housing prices pushing up rents and creating demand seriously exceeding supply. Families are preferred over single individuals and many people are finding that they are permanently excluded from successfully obtaining a place they can call "home ".
This is a growing phenomenon and the providers of public facilities are under pressure to make changes. Many toilet and shower facilities at beaches are now barred and locked overnight. The provision of public toilets dwindle alarmingly at night when the pubs close. This will come at a cost as such action drives desperate people to use parks and gardens.
When we agitate to restrict public facilities, we should remember that such action does come with consequences !
Sunday, 28 October 2018
Delaying Tactics !
The name "Julian Assange " is as familiar in most countries of the world as the current crop of Hollywood male movie stars. He has managed to gain media headlines on a regular basis for well over the past ten years, ever since he founded WikiLeaks and published secrets gained from the American government by colleagues embedded in the United States armed forces.
Assange is Australian by birth and he travelled the world with impunity while WikiLeaks revelations riled the American government. He became a sought speaker on the world stage until his undoing in a Scandinavian country. The subject of sex reared its ugly head. There was an accusation of rape and Assange was ordered to appear in court and give his version of what had happened.
He feared that the Americans would slap a deportation order on him the moment he set foot in a Scandinavian country and fled to Britain, where he breached his bail conditions. With British police ordered to perform an arrest he fled to the embassy of Ecuador, which offered him sanctuary.
Julian Assange has long been the bird in the gilded cage. The London embassy has been ringed by uniformed British police to prevent his escape and he regularly appears on a small verandah to give a news conference to gathered journalists.. The rape accusation has been dropped, but the British are relentless in pursuing him over that bail breach and that massive ring of police around the embassy is being maintained at a cost of millions of dollars a year.
Assange was granted Ecuadorian citizenship and while he is chafed at his lack of freedom he lives in very comfortable circumstances. He uses the internet to keep in touch with world fans and he continues to air his political views, and this has angered his hosts. They have imposed sanctions that he must meet to remain in the embassy.
Julian Assange has commenced a lawsuit against his mentors with the claim that these sanctions are oppressive. Spanish is the language of Ecuador and the court provided a translator so Assange could follow the flow of proceedings from Spanish to English, but the hearing has been adjourned because Assange claims the interpreter's version is unintelligible to him.
What seems to be missing is the Australian dialect. The judge found that the court erred in appointing an interpreter who only spoke " English " , apparently under the impression that the Australian dialect is incomprehensible to other anglophones.
The wily Assange has become the master of deploying unusual delaying tactics. He has lived for years - in plain sight but just out of reach of the law. This time around he has presented the English courts with a new conundrum. They must decide if the Australian language has strayed so far from the tongue spoken in the mother country that it requires an interpreter fluent in its dialect.
If so, " Australian " will need to be added to the vocabulary of recognised world languages.
Assange is Australian by birth and he travelled the world with impunity while WikiLeaks revelations riled the American government. He became a sought speaker on the world stage until his undoing in a Scandinavian country. The subject of sex reared its ugly head. There was an accusation of rape and Assange was ordered to appear in court and give his version of what had happened.
He feared that the Americans would slap a deportation order on him the moment he set foot in a Scandinavian country and fled to Britain, where he breached his bail conditions. With British police ordered to perform an arrest he fled to the embassy of Ecuador, which offered him sanctuary.
Julian Assange has long been the bird in the gilded cage. The London embassy has been ringed by uniformed British police to prevent his escape and he regularly appears on a small verandah to give a news conference to gathered journalists.. The rape accusation has been dropped, but the British are relentless in pursuing him over that bail breach and that massive ring of police around the embassy is being maintained at a cost of millions of dollars a year.
Assange was granted Ecuadorian citizenship and while he is chafed at his lack of freedom he lives in very comfortable circumstances. He uses the internet to keep in touch with world fans and he continues to air his political views, and this has angered his hosts. They have imposed sanctions that he must meet to remain in the embassy.
Julian Assange has commenced a lawsuit against his mentors with the claim that these sanctions are oppressive. Spanish is the language of Ecuador and the court provided a translator so Assange could follow the flow of proceedings from Spanish to English, but the hearing has been adjourned because Assange claims the interpreter's version is unintelligible to him.
What seems to be missing is the Australian dialect. The judge found that the court erred in appointing an interpreter who only spoke " English " , apparently under the impression that the Australian dialect is incomprehensible to other anglophones.
The wily Assange has become the master of deploying unusual delaying tactics. He has lived for years - in plain sight but just out of reach of the law. This time around he has presented the English courts with a new conundrum. They must decide if the Australian language has strayed so far from the tongue spoken in the mother country that it requires an interpreter fluent in its dialect.
If so, " Australian " will need to be added to the vocabulary of recognised world languages.
Saturday, 27 October 2018
Political Terrorism !
America is just days away from the midterm elections which have the power to change the political majority in the Senate from Republican to Democrat. This will certainly be the judgement vote on how Donald Trump's presidency is viewed across the country.
Both political parties are desperate to get out the vote and because voting is optional in America that means galvanising those apathetic about politics to go to a polling booth and record their vote. This is resulting in major efforts to get those not on the voting roll to register and this requires residents to prove their identity. Providing such proof varies widely from state to state.
In the past, people of colour were often forcibly prevented from recording a vote in the southern states and because they traditionally voted Democrat the outcome of this midterm election may rest in their hands. Trump won office with the support of a redneck majority and this election result may well hinge on how successful each side of politics is in marshalling their supporters.
Now a curious new element has entered the fray. Packages containing crude - but deadly - pipe bombs have been mailed to leading Democrat identities that include Barak Obama and both Bill and Hilary Clinton. So far most have been detected in mail centres and the FBI is investigating but this terror attack is heading to a wide selection of people and organizations with Democrat connections, including the CNN news service.
Each bomb package contains the name and address of the supposed sender and in all cases this is given as Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is the Democrat Congresswoman from Florida. So far, nobody has suffered injury because none of the bombs have actually exploded. In some cases the name of the addressees are misspelt.
Donald Trump is getting the blame from some quarters because of his vitriolic response to any form of criticism. The intensity of his remarks can generate hatred towards his political foes and the news organizations that carry their message. It seems that terrorism is now a part of internal politics in America.
The rather amateurish nature of these bombs and the packages in which they are packed could be intended to deceive. It seems quite clear that Russia instigated a very sophisticated misinformation campaign to support Trump in the 2016 presidential election. It may be intended that this attack is construed to appear to be the work of redneck Trump supporters seeking to damage his political detractors. Crude bombs may appeal to the redneck fringe to consolidate the vote that put Trump in office and maintain that momentum in the midterm.
Of course it may also have the opposite effect. Many Americans are deeply offended by the growing gun culture that is dividing the country and these bombs may cause them to withhold their votes. The midterm lacks the enthusiasm of a presidential election and usually turns against the party holding a majority. It is hard to see just what this bombing campaign hopes to achieve !
Both political parties are desperate to get out the vote and because voting is optional in America that means galvanising those apathetic about politics to go to a polling booth and record their vote. This is resulting in major efforts to get those not on the voting roll to register and this requires residents to prove their identity. Providing such proof varies widely from state to state.
In the past, people of colour were often forcibly prevented from recording a vote in the southern states and because they traditionally voted Democrat the outcome of this midterm election may rest in their hands. Trump won office with the support of a redneck majority and this election result may well hinge on how successful each side of politics is in marshalling their supporters.
Now a curious new element has entered the fray. Packages containing crude - but deadly - pipe bombs have been mailed to leading Democrat identities that include Barak Obama and both Bill and Hilary Clinton. So far most have been detected in mail centres and the FBI is investigating but this terror attack is heading to a wide selection of people and organizations with Democrat connections, including the CNN news service.
Each bomb package contains the name and address of the supposed sender and in all cases this is given as Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is the Democrat Congresswoman from Florida. So far, nobody has suffered injury because none of the bombs have actually exploded. In some cases the name of the addressees are misspelt.
Donald Trump is getting the blame from some quarters because of his vitriolic response to any form of criticism. The intensity of his remarks can generate hatred towards his political foes and the news organizations that carry their message. It seems that terrorism is now a part of internal politics in America.
The rather amateurish nature of these bombs and the packages in which they are packed could be intended to deceive. It seems quite clear that Russia instigated a very sophisticated misinformation campaign to support Trump in the 2016 presidential election. It may be intended that this attack is construed to appear to be the work of redneck Trump supporters seeking to damage his political detractors. Crude bombs may appeal to the redneck fringe to consolidate the vote that put Trump in office and maintain that momentum in the midterm.
Of course it may also have the opposite effect. Many Americans are deeply offended by the growing gun culture that is dividing the country and these bombs may cause them to withhold their votes. The midterm lacks the enthusiasm of a presidential election and usually turns against the party holding a majority. It is hard to see just what this bombing campaign hopes to achieve !
Friday, 26 October 2018
A New " World Wonder " !
At the start of the Twenty-first century the Oresund bridge linking Europe with Scandinavia was a mechanical feat that stunned the world. The thought of a bridge that spanned 16.4 kilometres of open sea was simply revolutionary in providing both a road and rail link from Copenhagen in Denmark to Malmo in Sweden. The construction period took from 1995 to 1999 and the bridge cost more than fifty billion dollars. It was officially opened on July 1, 2000.
This week saw the opening of an even greater sea bridge, linking China with Macau and Hong Kong. This crosses fifty-five kilometres of open water and took nine years to construct. The cost is not disclosed but it will provide two road lanes each way and will predominantly serve bus traffic. Private citizens can get a permit to use the bridge but the main use will be tourist traffic and there will be a toll ranging from $8 to $10, depending on peak times and public holidays.
Sadly, this new bridge will dim the hopes of many Hong Kong residents of establishing a degree of autonomy from mainland China. The city was ceded to Britain in 1842 during the Opium wars and quickly became the trading hub of the orient. The British ruled with a light hand and Hong Kong became both a key tourist destination and a world city.
When the Communists took over China in 1948 they scrupulously left Hong Kong alone until the lease expired and it was handed back on July 1, 1997. That was under a carefully negotiated agreement which promised a degree of autonomy, but stressed a " One country, two systems " approach which is now encountering pressure from a more militant China.
As a trading city Hong Kong produced its share of millionaires and as the handover approached many established links with Australia and America as bolt holes to hide their money and seek citizenship. Since Xi Jinping took office China has entered a more authoritarian age and has intruded more forcefully in Hong Kong affairs. The creation of this new sea bridge is tangible evidence that the grasp of the mainland is ever tighter.
Perhaps the fate of both Hong Kong and Taiwan are closely linked. When Chiang Kia Chek lost the civil war to the Communists he moved his forces to the island of Formosa, which was renamed Taiwan. China insists it is a renegade province which will one day be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. For decades, its independence has been guaranteed by an American peace treaty.
Australia has been negotiating a free trade agreement with Taiwan and that has now met an impasse. China has made it clear that it would not look favourably on such a deal and it would cause difficulties in trade between the two countries. Seeing that Taiwan has a population of just twenty-two million people, the trade balance loss is obvious.
China's tolerance of both Hong Kong and Taiwan are hardening. The fact that Taiwan now has an independence minded president seems sure to ratchet up the pressure. It seems certain that the days of reckoning are fast approaching. That sea bridge is a token of how the embrace is ever tightening.
This week saw the opening of an even greater sea bridge, linking China with Macau and Hong Kong. This crosses fifty-five kilometres of open water and took nine years to construct. The cost is not disclosed but it will provide two road lanes each way and will predominantly serve bus traffic. Private citizens can get a permit to use the bridge but the main use will be tourist traffic and there will be a toll ranging from $8 to $10, depending on peak times and public holidays.
Sadly, this new bridge will dim the hopes of many Hong Kong residents of establishing a degree of autonomy from mainland China. The city was ceded to Britain in 1842 during the Opium wars and quickly became the trading hub of the orient. The British ruled with a light hand and Hong Kong became both a key tourist destination and a world city.
When the Communists took over China in 1948 they scrupulously left Hong Kong alone until the lease expired and it was handed back on July 1, 1997. That was under a carefully negotiated agreement which promised a degree of autonomy, but stressed a " One country, two systems " approach which is now encountering pressure from a more militant China.
As a trading city Hong Kong produced its share of millionaires and as the handover approached many established links with Australia and America as bolt holes to hide their money and seek citizenship. Since Xi Jinping took office China has entered a more authoritarian age and has intruded more forcefully in Hong Kong affairs. The creation of this new sea bridge is tangible evidence that the grasp of the mainland is ever tighter.
Perhaps the fate of both Hong Kong and Taiwan are closely linked. When Chiang Kia Chek lost the civil war to the Communists he moved his forces to the island of Formosa, which was renamed Taiwan. China insists it is a renegade province which will one day be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. For decades, its independence has been guaranteed by an American peace treaty.
Australia has been negotiating a free trade agreement with Taiwan and that has now met an impasse. China has made it clear that it would not look favourably on such a deal and it would cause difficulties in trade between the two countries. Seeing that Taiwan has a population of just twenty-two million people, the trade balance loss is obvious.
China's tolerance of both Hong Kong and Taiwan are hardening. The fact that Taiwan now has an independence minded president seems sure to ratchet up the pressure. It seems certain that the days of reckoning are fast approaching. That sea bridge is a token of how the embrace is ever tightening.
Thursday, 25 October 2018
Our Plastic Diet !
The warning signals have been sounding - loud and clear - for a long time. The oceans have become the dumping ground for all sorts of plastic rubbish and we actually have a giant floating garbage patch of accumulated plastic in the middle of the Pacific ocean.
Some of this plastic rubbish will take centuries to break down into component parts, but other types degenerate through a mix of age and the ultra violet rays of the sun and in flake form drop down onto the ocean floor, where they are devoured by miniscule creatures.
That is one way that plastic gets into the food chain. Those miniscule creatures become food for something bigger and so the process goes on until we humans add the bounty of the ocean to our diet. Giant fishing fleets from all nations scour the sea in an ever widening search for what is now a major component of the food supply in many countries.
We have been warned that ingesting this plastic can be harmful to humans and now science has for the first time been able to measure the microplastics building up in the bodies of humans. Scientists at the Austrian Environment Agency and the University of Vienna have been analysing stool samples from people of eight countries - and found microplastics present in every one. In some cases, nine different types of microplastic were found in each single sample and on average twenty microplastic particles were found in every 10 g of human waste.
In animal studies, the presence of microplastics in the gut have entered the bloodstream and the lymphatic system and even reach the liver. These are particles of plastic less than five millimetre and there is every chance that their concentration in humans would be similar. It has long been feared that this could damage the immune system, trigger inflammation and help carry toxins such as mercury or pesticide into the body.
It has been long believed that plastics damage fertility, and in our western world the fertility rate has been decreasing and many couples seek assistance in starting a family. It seems that this fertility drop corresponded with the age in which the discovery of plastics entered our lifestyle.
The answer to this problem is abundantly clear. We need to stop the flow of plastics into the oceans and take steps to remover what is there already. Even if by some miracle we could achieve that immediately, what is in the system will continue to enter our bodies for a long time into the future.
Perhaps we would be wised to restrict the volume of fish, prawns and other types of seafood to at least reduce the amount of microplastic damaging our bodies. Now that the volume has been measured, further research will probably deliver more bad news !
Some of this plastic rubbish will take centuries to break down into component parts, but other types degenerate through a mix of age and the ultra violet rays of the sun and in flake form drop down onto the ocean floor, where they are devoured by miniscule creatures.
That is one way that plastic gets into the food chain. Those miniscule creatures become food for something bigger and so the process goes on until we humans add the bounty of the ocean to our diet. Giant fishing fleets from all nations scour the sea in an ever widening search for what is now a major component of the food supply in many countries.
We have been warned that ingesting this plastic can be harmful to humans and now science has for the first time been able to measure the microplastics building up in the bodies of humans. Scientists at the Austrian Environment Agency and the University of Vienna have been analysing stool samples from people of eight countries - and found microplastics present in every one. In some cases, nine different types of microplastic were found in each single sample and on average twenty microplastic particles were found in every 10 g of human waste.
In animal studies, the presence of microplastics in the gut have entered the bloodstream and the lymphatic system and even reach the liver. These are particles of plastic less than five millimetre and there is every chance that their concentration in humans would be similar. It has long been feared that this could damage the immune system, trigger inflammation and help carry toxins such as mercury or pesticide into the body.
It has been long believed that plastics damage fertility, and in our western world the fertility rate has been decreasing and many couples seek assistance in starting a family. It seems that this fertility drop corresponded with the age in which the discovery of plastics entered our lifestyle.
The answer to this problem is abundantly clear. We need to stop the flow of plastics into the oceans and take steps to remover what is there already. Even if by some miracle we could achieve that immediately, what is in the system will continue to enter our bodies for a long time into the future.
Perhaps we would be wised to restrict the volume of fish, prawns and other types of seafood to at least reduce the amount of microplastic damaging our bodies. Now that the volume has been measured, further research will probably deliver more bad news !
Wednesday, 24 October 2018
A " Nuclear " Necessity !
The use of isotopes derived from a nuclear reactor are an essential part of modern medicine today and our supply comes from the nuclear reactor located in the Sydney suburb of Lucas Heights. Unfortunately this 1950's era technology is fast reaching its " use by " date and reactor replacement is becoming an urgent necessity.
When this reactor was built it was the subject of immense controversy and that is still evident today. The Australian public are simply terrified of anything with that " nuclear " label and there are protests every time spent nuclear fuel rods need to be transported to France for renewal. They are safely transported in sealed lead lined containers by way of an armed convoy that travels through the night to a waiting ship at Port Kembla, escorted along sealed roads by contingents of police.
Despite a long and impeccable safety record, there are still action groups demanding that Lucas Heights reactor be closed. It is quite clear that when the issue of a replacement reaches debate in parliament it will engender strident opposition. It is unlikely to gain political consensus and if nothing else the locality where a replacement will be built is certain to stoke new fury.
No doubt it will create the same NIMBY reaction that surrounds the selection of a storage site for used radioactive waste that is presently being stored at Lucas Heights. With an entire continent at our disposal, all attempts to achieve amicable consensus seem to have failed. The politicians continually return this issue to the " too hard basket ".
Unfortunately, age is not being kind to this dated technology. Because of the controversy the plant has been subjected to a " make do and mend " philosophy and this could increase the danger of accidents. Reactor technology has advanced to the point where safety standards are light years ahead of that mid twentieth century process in place at Lucas Heights. We are actually increasing the risk by delaying a replacement decision.
What is causing alarm is the knowledge that even if we reached a replacement decision today, the lead time to install a reactor and have it producing isotopes would be at least five years, and this would cost an estimated $ 210 million to build.
What seems certain is that a new nuclear reactor will not be sited in a densely settled city suburb. Any place in Australia would be suitable provided it is near an airport so isotopes could be swiftly distributed to national medical facilities, and it could be a valuable addition to a country town because of the high salary skilled technicians based on nuclear medicine.
That fear of all things nuclear relates to the possible use of nuclear weapons in a future war. The type of nuclear reactor needed to produce isotopes can not be used to make an atomic bomb and our reactor at Lucas Heights has demonstrated the safety aspect over a long period of time. It is essential that Australia comes to terms with our isotope needs and makes an informed decision on installing a new reactor somewhere in this country.
When this reactor was built it was the subject of immense controversy and that is still evident today. The Australian public are simply terrified of anything with that " nuclear " label and there are protests every time spent nuclear fuel rods need to be transported to France for renewal. They are safely transported in sealed lead lined containers by way of an armed convoy that travels through the night to a waiting ship at Port Kembla, escorted along sealed roads by contingents of police.
Despite a long and impeccable safety record, there are still action groups demanding that Lucas Heights reactor be closed. It is quite clear that when the issue of a replacement reaches debate in parliament it will engender strident opposition. It is unlikely to gain political consensus and if nothing else the locality where a replacement will be built is certain to stoke new fury.
No doubt it will create the same NIMBY reaction that surrounds the selection of a storage site for used radioactive waste that is presently being stored at Lucas Heights. With an entire continent at our disposal, all attempts to achieve amicable consensus seem to have failed. The politicians continually return this issue to the " too hard basket ".
Unfortunately, age is not being kind to this dated technology. Because of the controversy the plant has been subjected to a " make do and mend " philosophy and this could increase the danger of accidents. Reactor technology has advanced to the point where safety standards are light years ahead of that mid twentieth century process in place at Lucas Heights. We are actually increasing the risk by delaying a replacement decision.
What is causing alarm is the knowledge that even if we reached a replacement decision today, the lead time to install a reactor and have it producing isotopes would be at least five years, and this would cost an estimated $ 210 million to build.
What seems certain is that a new nuclear reactor will not be sited in a densely settled city suburb. Any place in Australia would be suitable provided it is near an airport so isotopes could be swiftly distributed to national medical facilities, and it could be a valuable addition to a country town because of the high salary skilled technicians based on nuclear medicine.
That fear of all things nuclear relates to the possible use of nuclear weapons in a future war. The type of nuclear reactor needed to produce isotopes can not be used to make an atomic bomb and our reactor at Lucas Heights has demonstrated the safety aspect over a long period of time. It is essential that Australia comes to terms with our isotope needs and makes an informed decision on installing a new reactor somewhere in this country.
Tuesday, 23 October 2018
The Ubiquitous " Train Guard " !
From the 1880's to the 1960's the streets of Sydney reverberated to the sound of its tram system and that familiar call of the person collecting the money. " Fares Please " was the call from the " Conductor " as he moved through the tram and each tram was a two person operation - driver and fare collector.
The Opal card has replaced cash money on all forms of public transport. Passengers simply tap on when they start their journey and tap off when it ends and the computer system calculates the distance travelled and extracts the fare from the deposit required for each Opal card. Trams are returning to Sydney and this modern version will require only a driver. The role of " Conductor " has been made redundant.
We are in the process of spending $ 2.3 billion on state of the art new trains and these are being built in South Korea and their configuration is such that they can be operated by just a driver. They are expected to start operating here by mid 2020. This raises the question on whether they will be manned by a two man crew, comprising a driver and a " Guard ".
That Guard position harks back to the steam age. He alighted at each station stop and viewed the passengers movement on and off the train, and when he considered it safe for the train to resume its journey he signalled the driver with a flag. Those flag waving days are long over and today the job of Guard is heading for a fight with the rail unions.
Dispensing with a Guard and running trains in a driver only role will save an enormous amount of money and this is now common in a lot of overseas countries. The safety aspect is now covered by the use of cameras which allow the driver to clearly see what is happening on platforms and within the body of the train itself. The driver is in constant radio contact with supervisors who can summons help in the event of an emergency.
A Guard is not expected to deal with unruly passengers. Policer and security people regularly patrol the trains and the driver can summon police to attend at a station if needed. The role of a guard is not entirely clear and helping with prams and elderly passengers seems to be the main necessity. Such a role is reassuring to passengers, but does it still have a place in a modern rail system ?
Theoretically, assisting passengers with children, luggage or the elderly should be the role of station staff, but many stations are unattended these days, particularly on the rural network. The financial advantage of operating the rail network with drivers only is overwhelming. It is probably the only way that fare reductions are possible.
At this stage the government is placating unions by insisting the guard position will be retained. Just what function that will serve remains to be negotiated.
The Opal card has replaced cash money on all forms of public transport. Passengers simply tap on when they start their journey and tap off when it ends and the computer system calculates the distance travelled and extracts the fare from the deposit required for each Opal card. Trams are returning to Sydney and this modern version will require only a driver. The role of " Conductor " has been made redundant.
We are in the process of spending $ 2.3 billion on state of the art new trains and these are being built in South Korea and their configuration is such that they can be operated by just a driver. They are expected to start operating here by mid 2020. This raises the question on whether they will be manned by a two man crew, comprising a driver and a " Guard ".
That Guard position harks back to the steam age. He alighted at each station stop and viewed the passengers movement on and off the train, and when he considered it safe for the train to resume its journey he signalled the driver with a flag. Those flag waving days are long over and today the job of Guard is heading for a fight with the rail unions.
Dispensing with a Guard and running trains in a driver only role will save an enormous amount of money and this is now common in a lot of overseas countries. The safety aspect is now covered by the use of cameras which allow the driver to clearly see what is happening on platforms and within the body of the train itself. The driver is in constant radio contact with supervisors who can summons help in the event of an emergency.
A Guard is not expected to deal with unruly passengers. Policer and security people regularly patrol the trains and the driver can summon police to attend at a station if needed. The role of a guard is not entirely clear and helping with prams and elderly passengers seems to be the main necessity. Such a role is reassuring to passengers, but does it still have a place in a modern rail system ?
Theoretically, assisting passengers with children, luggage or the elderly should be the role of station staff, but many stations are unattended these days, particularly on the rural network. The financial advantage of operating the rail network with drivers only is overwhelming. It is probably the only way that fare reductions are possible.
At this stage the government is placating unions by insisting the guard position will be retained. Just what function that will serve remains to be negotiated.
Monday, 22 October 2018
Relieving " Bond " Stress !
In a tight rental market the " bond " required to be lodged by a new tenant is now several hundred dollars and with high end properties it can run to thousands. The purpose of that money held in security is to recompense the owner of the property should the tenant inflict damage or abscond leaving unpaid rent.
One of the problems is that return of the bond at the end of a lease usually takes time because the property needs to be inspected and a time gap of several weeks means the tenant must find the money to pay the bond required to secure their new rental home. In many cases, they have no other option than " pay day " lenders and their high interest rates. That is a money trap that becomes enduring and is hard to escape.
The government is preparing legislation to allow bonds to be transferred from the old rental property to the new by way of a provisional certificate. The vast majority of renters have their bond reimbursed in full and this type of transaction would speed the money transfer when the rental outcomes involve entirely separate rental agents.
The legislation is still evolving and it needs to protect both the renter and the landlord, which was the initial purpose of lodging a bond. It was a guarantee that the renter would be a good tenant and maintain the property and pay the agreed rental promptly on time. This provisional certificate idea means that instead of the transfer of banknotes, the bond passing between properties takes the form of a slip of paper. The onus will fall on the agent of the outgoing property to take a degree of responsibility for the issue of that certificate.
The big question is what happens if a damages claim occurs after this provisional certificate has secured a new property ? If the landlord has to extract the money owed from the outgoing tenant the whole purpose of the bond has lost logical meaning. If that charge is extracted from the new bond then the new landlord is left with insufficient cover on the new rental property.
It will certainly increase the responsibility of the letting agency. The actual bond is lodged with the Rental Bond Board who would need to change their records to accomplish this change but the letting agency would need to accept some responsibility for issuing a provisional certificate. They would be unwise to do that without inspecting the property for visual damage.
Th is will be a very difficult piece of legislation to enact. The bond money is safely deposited with the Rental Bond Board but the release is in the hands of the letting agency. Unless the area of responsibility is settled most letting agents will refuse to release bonds until the landlord signs the all clear. There is the possibility that this change may achieve nothing !
One of the problems is that return of the bond at the end of a lease usually takes time because the property needs to be inspected and a time gap of several weeks means the tenant must find the money to pay the bond required to secure their new rental home. In many cases, they have no other option than " pay day " lenders and their high interest rates. That is a money trap that becomes enduring and is hard to escape.
The government is preparing legislation to allow bonds to be transferred from the old rental property to the new by way of a provisional certificate. The vast majority of renters have their bond reimbursed in full and this type of transaction would speed the money transfer when the rental outcomes involve entirely separate rental agents.
The legislation is still evolving and it needs to protect both the renter and the landlord, which was the initial purpose of lodging a bond. It was a guarantee that the renter would be a good tenant and maintain the property and pay the agreed rental promptly on time. This provisional certificate idea means that instead of the transfer of banknotes, the bond passing between properties takes the form of a slip of paper. The onus will fall on the agent of the outgoing property to take a degree of responsibility for the issue of that certificate.
The big question is what happens if a damages claim occurs after this provisional certificate has secured a new property ? If the landlord has to extract the money owed from the outgoing tenant the whole purpose of the bond has lost logical meaning. If that charge is extracted from the new bond then the new landlord is left with insufficient cover on the new rental property.
It will certainly increase the responsibility of the letting agency. The actual bond is lodged with the Rental Bond Board who would need to change their records to accomplish this change but the letting agency would need to accept some responsibility for issuing a provisional certificate. They would be unwise to do that without inspecting the property for visual damage.
Th is will be a very difficult piece of legislation to enact. The bond money is safely deposited with the Rental Bond Board but the release is in the hands of the letting agency. Unless the area of responsibility is settled most letting agents will refuse to release bonds until the landlord signs the all clear. There is the possibility that this change may achieve nothing !
Sunday, 21 October 2018
A Very Unhealthy Habit !
The image of the mysterious East in most Australian minds was formed by Hollywood movies and contained memories of sandy deserts, palaces that housed powerful rulers and their harems, lots of Camels and the inevitable water pipe - the " Hookah " was a part of such backgrounds.
It was inevitable that this smoking instrument would move to Australia with the Middle East migrants who have made this country their home and it was thought that it had become a victim of our war on tobacco and the deaths that nicotine was inflicting on our citizens.
What is surprising is the eastern water pipe is fast becoming a fashion item and is appearing in coffee shops, cafes, restaurants and bars in suburbs in Canterbury, Bankstown and St George in Sydney. The proprietors of these establishments find it attracts custom and a new wave of men and women are finding it fashionable to try what they consider a harmless indulgence.
It is setting a new trend and its appeal is being enhanced by the addition of fruity flavours to the smoke inhaled and increasing numbers of people are finding that it is addictive. The fact that it is a new additive to the cultural scene enhances its attraction. It is now referred to as " Shiska " and its popularity is fast growing.
Nomatter what the base being burned, there is no doubt that inhaling smoke is a health hazard. It is estimated that a one hour session of Shiska would be as harmful as smoking between a hundred and two hundred cigarettes. It is inevitable that if this habit takes hold it will eventually appear in health statistics.
Apparently, it falls between health law definitions which apply to tobacco and some people believe that the principle of the water pipe passing matter through water negates all ill effects. The Australian Lebanese Muslim association has joined the South Sydney District Health people to launch a warning campaign about the dangers of Shiska. This is being funded by a $ 386,000 grant from the government.
The problem is that when something becomes " fashionable " it is virtually unstoppable, just as consuming Ecstacy at music events has defied both wisdom and the law. There is a very real danger that if Shiska becomes unlawful it will simple go underground. As we are well aware with the drug scene, the law of supply and demand applies. The criminal fraternity are always quick to gain the profits generated when demand is constricted by a law.
Just another conundrum for the law makers and the civil authorities to ponder. It seems that the eastern water pipe is the latest health hazard on the party scene !
It was inevitable that this smoking instrument would move to Australia with the Middle East migrants who have made this country their home and it was thought that it had become a victim of our war on tobacco and the deaths that nicotine was inflicting on our citizens.
What is surprising is the eastern water pipe is fast becoming a fashion item and is appearing in coffee shops, cafes, restaurants and bars in suburbs in Canterbury, Bankstown and St George in Sydney. The proprietors of these establishments find it attracts custom and a new wave of men and women are finding it fashionable to try what they consider a harmless indulgence.
It is setting a new trend and its appeal is being enhanced by the addition of fruity flavours to the smoke inhaled and increasing numbers of people are finding that it is addictive. The fact that it is a new additive to the cultural scene enhances its attraction. It is now referred to as " Shiska " and its popularity is fast growing.
Nomatter what the base being burned, there is no doubt that inhaling smoke is a health hazard. It is estimated that a one hour session of Shiska would be as harmful as smoking between a hundred and two hundred cigarettes. It is inevitable that if this habit takes hold it will eventually appear in health statistics.
Apparently, it falls between health law definitions which apply to tobacco and some people believe that the principle of the water pipe passing matter through water negates all ill effects. The Australian Lebanese Muslim association has joined the South Sydney District Health people to launch a warning campaign about the dangers of Shiska. This is being funded by a $ 386,000 grant from the government.
The problem is that when something becomes " fashionable " it is virtually unstoppable, just as consuming Ecstacy at music events has defied both wisdom and the law. There is a very real danger that if Shiska becomes unlawful it will simple go underground. As we are well aware with the drug scene, the law of supply and demand applies. The criminal fraternity are always quick to gain the profits generated when demand is constricted by a law.
Just another conundrum for the law makers and the civil authorities to ponder. It seems that the eastern water pipe is the latest health hazard on the party scene !
Saturday, 20 October 2018
Unacceptable Business Risks !
The time honoured method of awarding contracts for major construction projects is to invite contractors to submit a quote for the work - and usually the lowest tendered price wins. Unfortunately, the nature of work offering is so big and complex that ever fewer firms are prepared to commit to the cost involved in preparing a tender. The analysis work to put together a tender for the job can run to many millions of dollars.
Just such a situation arose when tenders were called for the Rozelle interchange on the West Connex Motorway. This work will be sixty-five metres underground and much of it will involve working around the facilities of other service providers. All the risks can not be fully estimated and in some cases what is required constitutes pioneering methods that have not been fully tested.
The government was aghast when just a single tender was submitted and this was prepared by a consortium of three giant world class construction companies. Apparently these individual firms thought the risks of each preparing a separate tender was too costly to be acceptable. To attract competitive tenders on jobs of this nature the government was forced to offer a form of compensation to help cover the cost of preparing a quote to the unsuccessful bidders. On the West Connex job, this ran to over twenty million dollars.
It would indeed be a very brave company that was prepared to gamble twenty million of their capital on preparing a quote that might be rejected. It is quite normal for such work to be padded to cover unseen eventualities and few reach completion without litigation, as evidenced by the combative outcome of the Sydney light rail project.
The only other option is what are termed " Do and Charge " projects where the honesty of the contracting company is trusted to charge a fair price as the project advances. In such cases, the government has the protection of litigation in the courts if it suspects it is being overcharged, but the very nature of the work makes cost definitions difficult.
Few major projects arrive at a final cost anywhere near the tendered price. The legalities are couched in terms that suggest the prices given are more estimates than firm prices, very much influenced by the nature of the plans under which the work is price submitted. Major projects of this nature are subject to revision as difficulties are encountered, and in many instances changes relate to political matters.
The government plans for a project tend to concentrate on the final outcome. The work of compiling a tender involves a step by step analysis of how that will be achieved, and in many cases it is the contractor who will supply the expertise to overcome obstacles that have no formal engineering solution. Preparing such a tender requires the expertise of highly skilled operatives who are innovative - and command consequently high salaries.
Awarding compensation for tender costs will draw criticism but it delivers the only method to keep costs down by applying bright minds to devise new methods of overcoming obstacles. It is often the tender process that delivers ingenuity that result in industry breakthroughs that modernise construction methods. Tender compensation is money well spent !
Just such a situation arose when tenders were called for the Rozelle interchange on the West Connex Motorway. This work will be sixty-five metres underground and much of it will involve working around the facilities of other service providers. All the risks can not be fully estimated and in some cases what is required constitutes pioneering methods that have not been fully tested.
The government was aghast when just a single tender was submitted and this was prepared by a consortium of three giant world class construction companies. Apparently these individual firms thought the risks of each preparing a separate tender was too costly to be acceptable. To attract competitive tenders on jobs of this nature the government was forced to offer a form of compensation to help cover the cost of preparing a quote to the unsuccessful bidders. On the West Connex job, this ran to over twenty million dollars.
It would indeed be a very brave company that was prepared to gamble twenty million of their capital on preparing a quote that might be rejected. It is quite normal for such work to be padded to cover unseen eventualities and few reach completion without litigation, as evidenced by the combative outcome of the Sydney light rail project.
The only other option is what are termed " Do and Charge " projects where the honesty of the contracting company is trusted to charge a fair price as the project advances. In such cases, the government has the protection of litigation in the courts if it suspects it is being overcharged, but the very nature of the work makes cost definitions difficult.
Few major projects arrive at a final cost anywhere near the tendered price. The legalities are couched in terms that suggest the prices given are more estimates than firm prices, very much influenced by the nature of the plans under which the work is price submitted. Major projects of this nature are subject to revision as difficulties are encountered, and in many instances changes relate to political matters.
The government plans for a project tend to concentrate on the final outcome. The work of compiling a tender involves a step by step analysis of how that will be achieved, and in many cases it is the contractor who will supply the expertise to overcome obstacles that have no formal engineering solution. Preparing such a tender requires the expertise of highly skilled operatives who are innovative - and command consequently high salaries.
Awarding compensation for tender costs will draw criticism but it delivers the only method to keep costs down by applying bright minds to devise new methods of overcoming obstacles. It is often the tender process that delivers ingenuity that result in industry breakthroughs that modernise construction methods. Tender compensation is money well spent !
Friday, 19 October 2018
Second Class Citizens !
The offer from New Zealand to take a hundred and fifty of the refugees stranded on Nauru is a generous gesture that should be welcomed by Australia, but once again their fate hinges on a promise that was instrumental in stopping the flow of " boat people ". That declaration that illegals arriving after a cut off date would never be permitted to live in Australia required credibility and is the reason that otherwise perfectly acceptable people - including little children - seem doomed to remain forever in what are really " internment camps " offshore.
To keep that promise, Australia would need New Zealand compliance to ensure that when these people settle in that country and gain New Zealand citizenship they would be forever barred from obtaining a New Zealand passport and using it to move to Australia. Basically, if granted that would reduce the status of those people from Nauru to second class New Zealand citizens. They would lack the rights that are accorded to all native born New Zealanders !
There is another possibility that could ensure the same result. There are existing restrictions that apply to New Zealand people arriving in Australia, even if it is for a short holiday. They are required to make a customs declaration that includes any prison term served or convictions recorded and a crime history sees entry refused. It would be quite feasible for those with a past history of detention on Nauru to be permanently listed for entry to Australia to be refused.
The obvious weakness in such a protocol is that many with a cumbersome family name shorten it to more easily fit western tongues and these refugees from Nauru will most likely merge into New Zealand anonymity over a period of time, and obviously their children born in New Zealand should not be subjected to such an entry ban.
The thing Australian politicians fear is the publicity that someone from Nauru who was settled in New Zealand and managed to make the move to Australia would generate - and possibly restart the people smugglers cramming refugees from the camps in Indonesia onto leaky boats for transfer to Australian shores.
That risk is overstated. The refugees in camps in Asia are well aware that negotiations seek to clear the camps on Nauru by sending people to the United States or New Zealand, and that any new arrivals will suffer the same fate. The conditions in those camps on Nauru are widely known and the fact that people languish there for years is a very good reason not to take a chance in a leaky boat.
Those camps on Nauru can not remain indefinitely. They are well past their use by date in the eyes of many Australians and they are fast becoming an embarrassment. This New Zealand offer should be accepted with gratitude and the risk accepted. The fact that Australia has not changed the terms that apply to boat arrivals will deter a resumption of the trade !
To keep that promise, Australia would need New Zealand compliance to ensure that when these people settle in that country and gain New Zealand citizenship they would be forever barred from obtaining a New Zealand passport and using it to move to Australia. Basically, if granted that would reduce the status of those people from Nauru to second class New Zealand citizens. They would lack the rights that are accorded to all native born New Zealanders !
There is another possibility that could ensure the same result. There are existing restrictions that apply to New Zealand people arriving in Australia, even if it is for a short holiday. They are required to make a customs declaration that includes any prison term served or convictions recorded and a crime history sees entry refused. It would be quite feasible for those with a past history of detention on Nauru to be permanently listed for entry to Australia to be refused.
The obvious weakness in such a protocol is that many with a cumbersome family name shorten it to more easily fit western tongues and these refugees from Nauru will most likely merge into New Zealand anonymity over a period of time, and obviously their children born in New Zealand should not be subjected to such an entry ban.
The thing Australian politicians fear is the publicity that someone from Nauru who was settled in New Zealand and managed to make the move to Australia would generate - and possibly restart the people smugglers cramming refugees from the camps in Indonesia onto leaky boats for transfer to Australian shores.
That risk is overstated. The refugees in camps in Asia are well aware that negotiations seek to clear the camps on Nauru by sending people to the United States or New Zealand, and that any new arrivals will suffer the same fate. The conditions in those camps on Nauru are widely known and the fact that people languish there for years is a very good reason not to take a chance in a leaky boat.
Those camps on Nauru can not remain indefinitely. They are well past their use by date in the eyes of many Australians and they are fast becoming an embarrassment. This New Zealand offer should be accepted with gratitude and the risk accepted. The fact that Australia has not changed the terms that apply to boat arrivals will deter a resumption of the trade !
Thursday, 18 October 2018
The " School Library " Question !
Half a century ago parents evaluating a school for their children often put it to the " library test ". Did it have a well stocked library and a librarian to help the kids obtain their quest for knowledge. It was common then for students to be set learning tests that required study and the information needed was available in the school library. The question being asked today is whether that form of information is needed in the computer age ?
Love it - or hate it - the computer is fast becoming a necessity in most homes as more services are now provided online. The computer has become a familiar tool in most classrooms and in todays world few kids will go to a library and seek information from a book when exactly what they need can be Googled onto their computer screen.
One of the advantages is that this computer knowledge is available at any time of the day or night, and a personal computer in one form or another is fast becoming an essential for every student. The government is actually providing computers free of charge for the under privileged of our society. It begs the question of whether school libraries are now a thing of the past that are soaking up education funds to keep them stocked and to pay staff who would be better used in a teaching role ?
That depends on who you ask ? For the serious researcher libraries are a treasure trove of how a particular item of knowledge developed. That same knowledge may be presented in a highly condensed form in Wilkepedia and without the guidance of a trained librarian that may be the extent of the students search.
Sadly, school libraries are fast becoming an economic question in many schools. The cost pressures are seeing funds for relevant new books constantly reduced and the needs for librarians is being questioned. In fact, many new technical books are not now available in printed form and the only access is the online version. It must be evident to thinking people that eventually all forms of print libraries are doomed.
That raises the question of the public library which is serving older Australians who are computer illiterate. Just about every municipality boasts a well stocked library and they need a constant flow of funds to keep their material relevant. There is a public outcry any time one of these closes, but we rarely see a statistical record of borrowing numbers and how that equates to previous years. It is quite possible that public libraries are serving an ever decreasing clientele.
The cost of publishing is increasing and production runs are getting ever shorter. Many people experience the joy of holding a printed book in their hands and reading is not the same joy when read on a kindle, but the economics insist that this will be the format for the future. Pressure is building to preserve forests and not cut trees for the production of paper.
The question of school libraries depends heavily on usage figures. Only a practical analysis of student use will determine if they are still relevant or whether those funds should be put to another use !
Love it - or hate it - the computer is fast becoming a necessity in most homes as more services are now provided online. The computer has become a familiar tool in most classrooms and in todays world few kids will go to a library and seek information from a book when exactly what they need can be Googled onto their computer screen.
One of the advantages is that this computer knowledge is available at any time of the day or night, and a personal computer in one form or another is fast becoming an essential for every student. The government is actually providing computers free of charge for the under privileged of our society. It begs the question of whether school libraries are now a thing of the past that are soaking up education funds to keep them stocked and to pay staff who would be better used in a teaching role ?
That depends on who you ask ? For the serious researcher libraries are a treasure trove of how a particular item of knowledge developed. That same knowledge may be presented in a highly condensed form in Wilkepedia and without the guidance of a trained librarian that may be the extent of the students search.
Sadly, school libraries are fast becoming an economic question in many schools. The cost pressures are seeing funds for relevant new books constantly reduced and the needs for librarians is being questioned. In fact, many new technical books are not now available in printed form and the only access is the online version. It must be evident to thinking people that eventually all forms of print libraries are doomed.
That raises the question of the public library which is serving older Australians who are computer illiterate. Just about every municipality boasts a well stocked library and they need a constant flow of funds to keep their material relevant. There is a public outcry any time one of these closes, but we rarely see a statistical record of borrowing numbers and how that equates to previous years. It is quite possible that public libraries are serving an ever decreasing clientele.
The cost of publishing is increasing and production runs are getting ever shorter. Many people experience the joy of holding a printed book in their hands and reading is not the same joy when read on a kindle, but the economics insist that this will be the format for the future. Pressure is building to preserve forests and not cut trees for the production of paper.
The question of school libraries depends heavily on usage figures. Only a practical analysis of student use will determine if they are still relevant or whether those funds should be put to another use !
Wednesday, 17 October 2018
A Chill in the European Air !
At the end of the second world war Germany was a ruined landscape. Its cities had been bombed and burned to rubble and half the country was occupied by the invading Russian Communists. Defeat was a bitter reality and it had to face world revulsion when the media toured the concentration camps and revealed the horror of the Holocaust.
The speed of recovery was surprising. The Germans are an industrious and innovative people and their union movement avoided unreasonable demands and costly strikes. Political stability and a solid work ethic created an economy which was dominant in Europe and after a succession of strong leaders Angela Merkel was elected as its Chancellor.
For over a decade Merkel could do no wrong. Hers was the voice of reason and Germany was the dominant country within the European Union. It seemed that the wisdom of Jacques Delors, the Frenchman who contended that the spectre of war will not be banished until the European nation states are safely contained in an economic and political fraternity which is mutually beneficial. That idea spawned what was initially called the " common market ".
The Angela Merkel era of invincibility began to crack when war in the Middle East and poverty in Africa unleashed wave after wave of refugees flooding into Europe, seeking a better life. Merkel opened Germany's door, and unleashed a backlash that has seen her support crumble. Ominously, a political party with roots to the Nationalist Socialist party that gave power to Adolph Hitler now holds seats in the German parliament and Merkel has just suffered a massive drop in support in the Bavarian state election.
The cohesion of the European Union is starting to crumble. Britain will leave the union in March, next year and one of the main causes is to regain control of its borders. Several other countries are refusing to take part in refugee absorption and an illiberal wave of government outlook is threatening to tear the EU apart. Many European leaders regard those clamouring for entry at their borders as " asylum tourism ".
Twice last century Germany took the world to war with the contention that they were the " master race " that was destined to rule the world. After its defeat in the second world was Germany was the most contrite and put in place laws that made it a criminal offence to dispute the tragedy of the Holocaust. Now that seventy-three years have passed those with a direct memory of the war are few and once again the principles of National Socialism may gain credit in young minds if the economy falters.
The impetus from some in the EU is for " ever closer " union with the EU eventually becoming the United States of Europe. Others chafe under the unending rule consolidation issuing from Brussels, but clearly the bone of contention roiling the EU is the absorption of refugees and their impact on both the economy and the lifestyle of the host countries.
Most of this warfare in sponsored by political rivalry between the big power blocks of east and west. These are proxy wars and should a consensus be reached they could end. A negotiated end to war in the Middle East would cease the exodus and with it most of the religious disruptions that are war related. If we are to have a peaceful planet, reconciliation between the warring great nations is an urgent necessity.
That would require give and take from both sides at the conference table. Sadly, the interest in achieving a peaceful outcome is too deeply enmeshed in politics.
The speed of recovery was surprising. The Germans are an industrious and innovative people and their union movement avoided unreasonable demands and costly strikes. Political stability and a solid work ethic created an economy which was dominant in Europe and after a succession of strong leaders Angela Merkel was elected as its Chancellor.
For over a decade Merkel could do no wrong. Hers was the voice of reason and Germany was the dominant country within the European Union. It seemed that the wisdom of Jacques Delors, the Frenchman who contended that the spectre of war will not be banished until the European nation states are safely contained in an economic and political fraternity which is mutually beneficial. That idea spawned what was initially called the " common market ".
The Angela Merkel era of invincibility began to crack when war in the Middle East and poverty in Africa unleashed wave after wave of refugees flooding into Europe, seeking a better life. Merkel opened Germany's door, and unleashed a backlash that has seen her support crumble. Ominously, a political party with roots to the Nationalist Socialist party that gave power to Adolph Hitler now holds seats in the German parliament and Merkel has just suffered a massive drop in support in the Bavarian state election.
The cohesion of the European Union is starting to crumble. Britain will leave the union in March, next year and one of the main causes is to regain control of its borders. Several other countries are refusing to take part in refugee absorption and an illiberal wave of government outlook is threatening to tear the EU apart. Many European leaders regard those clamouring for entry at their borders as " asylum tourism ".
Twice last century Germany took the world to war with the contention that they were the " master race " that was destined to rule the world. After its defeat in the second world was Germany was the most contrite and put in place laws that made it a criminal offence to dispute the tragedy of the Holocaust. Now that seventy-three years have passed those with a direct memory of the war are few and once again the principles of National Socialism may gain credit in young minds if the economy falters.
The impetus from some in the EU is for " ever closer " union with the EU eventually becoming the United States of Europe. Others chafe under the unending rule consolidation issuing from Brussels, but clearly the bone of contention roiling the EU is the absorption of refugees and their impact on both the economy and the lifestyle of the host countries.
Most of this warfare in sponsored by political rivalry between the big power blocks of east and west. These are proxy wars and should a consensus be reached they could end. A negotiated end to war in the Middle East would cease the exodus and with it most of the religious disruptions that are war related. If we are to have a peaceful planet, reconciliation between the warring great nations is an urgent necessity.
That would require give and take from both sides at the conference table. Sadly, the interest in achieving a peaceful outcome is too deeply enmeshed in politics.
Tuesday, 16 October 2018
Technology Warfare !
It looks like technology has tripped up the Saudi Arabian security people when they contrived a plan to eliminate a journalist who was constantly bringing their country's failings to world attention. In the world of espionage making someone disappear without trace can cause a media fuss, but this usually subsides and the matter fades from public attention.
Critics claim the Saudi's knew that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was planning to get married and would need to obtain official paperwork for that marriage to be recognised in his home country. They learned he was likely to visit the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and they flew a fifteen man security team to that city to prepare a trap.
What they failed to contend with was that Khashoggi was wearing one of those electronic "smart "watches and he set it to record because he suspected danger when he walked through that consulate entrance. This transferred it to his fiancees phone as she waited outside in a car. It is now claimed that a clear record exists of his abduction, questioning with the use of torture and murder at the hands of Saudi security people.
The Saudi's admit he visited the consulate, but claim he left of his own free will, yet the security cameras that cover all entrances show no record of his leaving. In the world of diplomacy that would normally be inconclusive and quickly wither away to silence, but if that audio record is authentic the Saudi's have a case to answer.
The big question is what action the world will take. Donald Trump is threatening " punishment ", but at the same time making it clear that this incident will not derail the Saudi arms purchase with a value of more than a billion dollars placed with American industry. Trump makes the point that the Saudi's would simply transfer the sale to Russia or China and the only victim of a cancellation would be American industry.
So far that transcript has not been publicly released. The Saudi's will continue to voice their denial and will most likely claim the recording is a fake. Despite the creation of the United Nations as a world body, there simply is no instrument capable of delivering justice when a country breaks international law.
If the usual precedent is followed, should a western government move to impose sanctions either Russia or China will use their veto to take that option off the table. The only redress seems to be the bad publicity the Saudi's will suffer because their spooks failed to recognise that modern western technology could create a record of an actual murder.
Just as the Russian agents who delivered a nerve poison to targets sheltering in Britain are safely back behind the Russian frontier, the Saudi agents will be withdrawn under diplomatic cover and remain out of reach, When matters of this nature go wrong they deliver embarrassment, but apart from a few cosmetic slaps on the wrist nothing changes.
No doubt the Khasjoggi affair will form the basis of a spy novel and perhaps a movie, but critics who offend know that they are never out of reach, nomatter where they reside.
Critics claim the Saudi's knew that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was planning to get married and would need to obtain official paperwork for that marriage to be recognised in his home country. They learned he was likely to visit the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and they flew a fifteen man security team to that city to prepare a trap.
What they failed to contend with was that Khashoggi was wearing one of those electronic "smart "watches and he set it to record because he suspected danger when he walked through that consulate entrance. This transferred it to his fiancees phone as she waited outside in a car. It is now claimed that a clear record exists of his abduction, questioning with the use of torture and murder at the hands of Saudi security people.
The Saudi's admit he visited the consulate, but claim he left of his own free will, yet the security cameras that cover all entrances show no record of his leaving. In the world of diplomacy that would normally be inconclusive and quickly wither away to silence, but if that audio record is authentic the Saudi's have a case to answer.
The big question is what action the world will take. Donald Trump is threatening " punishment ", but at the same time making it clear that this incident will not derail the Saudi arms purchase with a value of more than a billion dollars placed with American industry. Trump makes the point that the Saudi's would simply transfer the sale to Russia or China and the only victim of a cancellation would be American industry.
So far that transcript has not been publicly released. The Saudi's will continue to voice their denial and will most likely claim the recording is a fake. Despite the creation of the United Nations as a world body, there simply is no instrument capable of delivering justice when a country breaks international law.
If the usual precedent is followed, should a western government move to impose sanctions either Russia or China will use their veto to take that option off the table. The only redress seems to be the bad publicity the Saudi's will suffer because their spooks failed to recognise that modern western technology could create a record of an actual murder.
Just as the Russian agents who delivered a nerve poison to targets sheltering in Britain are safely back behind the Russian frontier, the Saudi agents will be withdrawn under diplomatic cover and remain out of reach, When matters of this nature go wrong they deliver embarrassment, but apart from a few cosmetic slaps on the wrist nothing changes.
No doubt the Khasjoggi affair will form the basis of a spy novel and perhaps a movie, but critics who offend know that they are never out of reach, nomatter where they reside.
Monday, 15 October 2018
Saving Luna Park !
Last July, the Land and Environment Court handed down a ruling that dismayed the operators of Luna Park, situated on the Sydney Harbour shoreline of North Sydney. This ruling would force Luna Park to under go a complete new development application every time they introduced a new ride or made significant changes to any form of existing amusements.
It was a devastating decision. Development applications are subject to challenges that usually delay a consent becoming applicable for months - and sometimes years. Amusement parks are in the business of selling excitement and patrons expect state of the art features to keep pace with the march of electronics and digital improvements to be relevant. Each year crowds exceeding a million people pour through that smiling face at the entrance and without new rides and constant rejuvenation Luna Park would lose appeal. In fact, this ruling foretold eventual closure.
What this is all about - is noise ! Luna Park opened in 1935 and the building of the Sydney Harbour bridge brought a rapid expansion of north Sydney. The water views attracted high rise apartments and their residents object to the sound of people enjoying themselves and that has developed into a long running battle. There is constant pressure to force Luna Park to close earlier at night and there was much popping of champagne corks when that court ruling was announced.
The people who bought those high rise apartments did so with the clear knowledge that they were living next to an amusement park - with its inevitable noise. It is totally unreasonable to expect a viable business to change its operations and become unviable when noise reduction is in their own hands. Installing insulation and double glazed windows will curtail this noise problem and that clearly should have been part of the development plan when those apartments were passed by council.
Fortunately, the government has come to the rescue of Luna Park. A new ordinance is on display until November 9 that strikes a balance, but it is unlikely to come into effect to deliver new attractions before the Christmas holiday season. This new measure grades amusements into categories that are either exempt or complying, and which can have changes certified by an independent certifier without the need for a development application. Such a DA would be needed for any significantly new ride, which would have to meet height, safety and heritage guidelines.
This modification ensures that existing amusements can be updated and improved because they are part of the existing sound level which was part of the original Luna Park experience for surrounding residents. Any entirely new developments will have to run the course of a development application - and the consequent challenges that will occur.
Hopefully, this delivers a message that intending home buyers need to understand. There are many activities that are undesirable as a next door neighbour, but if one exists close to where you choose to buy you can not expect to force it to close by agitation at a later date. The city is a mix of activities and when buying decisions are made such adverse neighbours are simply part of that decision.
The sound of happy people is the by-product of living close to Luna Park !
It was a devastating decision. Development applications are subject to challenges that usually delay a consent becoming applicable for months - and sometimes years. Amusement parks are in the business of selling excitement and patrons expect state of the art features to keep pace with the march of electronics and digital improvements to be relevant. Each year crowds exceeding a million people pour through that smiling face at the entrance and without new rides and constant rejuvenation Luna Park would lose appeal. In fact, this ruling foretold eventual closure.
What this is all about - is noise ! Luna Park opened in 1935 and the building of the Sydney Harbour bridge brought a rapid expansion of north Sydney. The water views attracted high rise apartments and their residents object to the sound of people enjoying themselves and that has developed into a long running battle. There is constant pressure to force Luna Park to close earlier at night and there was much popping of champagne corks when that court ruling was announced.
The people who bought those high rise apartments did so with the clear knowledge that they were living next to an amusement park - with its inevitable noise. It is totally unreasonable to expect a viable business to change its operations and become unviable when noise reduction is in their own hands. Installing insulation and double glazed windows will curtail this noise problem and that clearly should have been part of the development plan when those apartments were passed by council.
Fortunately, the government has come to the rescue of Luna Park. A new ordinance is on display until November 9 that strikes a balance, but it is unlikely to come into effect to deliver new attractions before the Christmas holiday season. This new measure grades amusements into categories that are either exempt or complying, and which can have changes certified by an independent certifier without the need for a development application. Such a DA would be needed for any significantly new ride, which would have to meet height, safety and heritage guidelines.
This modification ensures that existing amusements can be updated and improved because they are part of the existing sound level which was part of the original Luna Park experience for surrounding residents. Any entirely new developments will have to run the course of a development application - and the consequent challenges that will occur.
Hopefully, this delivers a message that intending home buyers need to understand. There are many activities that are undesirable as a next door neighbour, but if one exists close to where you choose to buy you can not expect to force it to close by agitation at a later date. The city is a mix of activities and when buying decisions are made such adverse neighbours are simply part of that decision.
The sound of happy people is the by-product of living close to Luna Park !
Sunday, 14 October 2018
Defining " Safe " !
A lot of people have their lives in limbo because of soil contamination caused by the fire fighting chemical PFAS. This is regarded as an essential for snuffing out fires caused by the ignition of petrol or kerosene and consequently it is widely used at airports and fuel terminals. The runoff finds its way onto adjacent land and since the risk factor received wide media attention the use of that land has been virtually sterilized.
Owners putting it on the market are unlikely to find a buyer and the contamination risk makes it unsuitable for any form of agricultural use. At this stage, the extent of the risk is yet to be determined and the government is facing multiple class actions to gain compensation because the risk originated from fire fighting on nearby government property.
Apart from this financial risk, there is the danger of personal injury to those who came into contact with PFAS when they lived on worked on these contaminated properties and a media investigation has revealed a wide discrepancy on the results of blood tests carried out by government and private testing agencies.
What started alarm bells ringing loudly was testing of water samples from a drain near a military establishment where polyfluoroalkyl was used. When this was tested the contamination level was thirty-four times higher than the result reported by the authorities.
An owner of land adjacent to the Williamstown RAAF base had his blood sampled twice on the same day, March 19. It was scanned for a range of PFAS chemicals by a government and a private agency and there was a glaring difference in the results for perfluro-hexane sulfonic acid. (PFHxS ). The government test detected chemical blood contamination at 21 ng/ml while the private test found more than twice that, at 49 ng/ml.
Obviously, varying test results will come into play when the courts determine the contamination levels and its effect on the compensation ordered. It is not a level playing field when the testing from different agencies is in dispute. To further complicate this issue PFAS is still in use and looks like being the prime fire fighting method for volatile fires well into the future, simply because there is nothing else that delivers the same result.
Quite apart from the property value issue, it seems that PFAS is a potentially carcinogenic material and the degree of contamination is more than of passing interest to those affected. There is the likelihood that what it circulating in their blood stream will have a dramatic effect on their lives at some time in the future.
When the same type of scientific testing delivers different results there is suspicion that this is not an accident. The courts will make up their own minds on these discrepancies but this result makes it obvious that government agency tests should be duplicated by the same test from a reputable private agency to check authenticity.
If for no other reason than for what someone once famously said : " To keep the bastards honest " !
Owners putting it on the market are unlikely to find a buyer and the contamination risk makes it unsuitable for any form of agricultural use. At this stage, the extent of the risk is yet to be determined and the government is facing multiple class actions to gain compensation because the risk originated from fire fighting on nearby government property.
Apart from this financial risk, there is the danger of personal injury to those who came into contact with PFAS when they lived on worked on these contaminated properties and a media investigation has revealed a wide discrepancy on the results of blood tests carried out by government and private testing agencies.
What started alarm bells ringing loudly was testing of water samples from a drain near a military establishment where polyfluoroalkyl was used. When this was tested the contamination level was thirty-four times higher than the result reported by the authorities.
An owner of land adjacent to the Williamstown RAAF base had his blood sampled twice on the same day, March 19. It was scanned for a range of PFAS chemicals by a government and a private agency and there was a glaring difference in the results for perfluro-hexane sulfonic acid. (PFHxS ). The government test detected chemical blood contamination at 21 ng/ml while the private test found more than twice that, at 49 ng/ml.
Obviously, varying test results will come into play when the courts determine the contamination levels and its effect on the compensation ordered. It is not a level playing field when the testing from different agencies is in dispute. To further complicate this issue PFAS is still in use and looks like being the prime fire fighting method for volatile fires well into the future, simply because there is nothing else that delivers the same result.
Quite apart from the property value issue, it seems that PFAS is a potentially carcinogenic material and the degree of contamination is more than of passing interest to those affected. There is the likelihood that what it circulating in their blood stream will have a dramatic effect on their lives at some time in the future.
When the same type of scientific testing delivers different results there is suspicion that this is not an accident. The courts will make up their own minds on these discrepancies but this result makes it obvious that government agency tests should be duplicated by the same test from a reputable private agency to check authenticity.
If for no other reason than for what someone once famously said : " To keep the bastards honest " !
Saturday, 13 October 2018
Seeking the News !
What we read in the newspapers each morning probably puts a writer somewhere else in the world at risk. The job of journalists is gathering the news and that is not welcome in countries with secretive governments. At the very least, persistent writer critics may find themselves in prison on trumped up charges. At the worst, they may die from an assassins bullet.
Saudi Arabia's oil makes it one of the richest countries on the planet, but its religious laws impose a lifestyle most Australians could not envisage. In particular, women are subjected to taboos that until recently made it a criminal offence to drive a car. The present ruler is modernising the country against strident opposition and he has adopted strong arm methods to stifle dissent.
A writers fame is an invisible shield that protects that person from direct danger, particularly if that writer lives abroad and has a network of supporters covertly feeding the information needed to disclose business the authorities want to keep secret. Such a Saudi journalist was a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper and his writings were a thorn in the side of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
It seems that Jamal Khashoggi intended to marry and Saudi law required paperwork to be lodged for that to be legally accepted. He was living in Turkey and he made a brief visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul - and mysteriously vanished. All the entrances and exits are covered by cctv cameras and they recorded his arrival - but failed to record his departure. It seems likely that he was murdered within the walls of what is considered legal Saudi property in the diplomatic sphere.
That International covenant is a trap awaiting any dissident who is out of the reach of their country of birth. The land on which an embassy or consulate is built is deemed to be the land of that country and it is therefore exempt from entry by the police or army of the host nation. During the cold war, dissidents who managed to find shelter in a western embassy sometimes lived safely for years within that protection and many foreign embassies were simply the base for spy activities.
Khashoggi's body was probably hastily disposed of before his absence was noticed. The Saudi's claim he left peacefully and even offer Turkey entry to conduct a search of the consulate, but there is little more that can be done. The Saudi's have delivered a message that will be sobering to those writing about the oil rich country. It has a long arm, and it has the ability to use it forcibly if threatened.
The poisoning of Russian dissidents in England with the use of nerve toxin illustrates the revenge methods employed by some regimes. It seems that what we read in the morning newspaper is costing the lives or liberty of journalists somewhere in the world.
Saudi Arabia's oil makes it one of the richest countries on the planet, but its religious laws impose a lifestyle most Australians could not envisage. In particular, women are subjected to taboos that until recently made it a criminal offence to drive a car. The present ruler is modernising the country against strident opposition and he has adopted strong arm methods to stifle dissent.
A writers fame is an invisible shield that protects that person from direct danger, particularly if that writer lives abroad and has a network of supporters covertly feeding the information needed to disclose business the authorities want to keep secret. Such a Saudi journalist was a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper and his writings were a thorn in the side of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
It seems that Jamal Khashoggi intended to marry and Saudi law required paperwork to be lodged for that to be legally accepted. He was living in Turkey and he made a brief visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul - and mysteriously vanished. All the entrances and exits are covered by cctv cameras and they recorded his arrival - but failed to record his departure. It seems likely that he was murdered within the walls of what is considered legal Saudi property in the diplomatic sphere.
That International covenant is a trap awaiting any dissident who is out of the reach of their country of birth. The land on which an embassy or consulate is built is deemed to be the land of that country and it is therefore exempt from entry by the police or army of the host nation. During the cold war, dissidents who managed to find shelter in a western embassy sometimes lived safely for years within that protection and many foreign embassies were simply the base for spy activities.
Khashoggi's body was probably hastily disposed of before his absence was noticed. The Saudi's claim he left peacefully and even offer Turkey entry to conduct a search of the consulate, but there is little more that can be done. The Saudi's have delivered a message that will be sobering to those writing about the oil rich country. It has a long arm, and it has the ability to use it forcibly if threatened.
The poisoning of Russian dissidents in England with the use of nerve toxin illustrates the revenge methods employed by some regimes. It seems that what we read in the morning newspaper is costing the lives or liberty of journalists somewhere in the world.
Friday, 12 October 2018
Much Ado About Nothing !
Do you remember the incredible fuss when New South Wales proposed abolishing the " Six O'clock Swill " ? That was the draconian law that required the serving of alcoholic drinks to cease at six o'clock in the evening and consequently great groups of mainly men congregated outside pubs as the witching hour approached, surrounded by glasses of beer that they quaffed before staggering home tipsy !
The religious establishment suggested that moving " closing time " to ten in the evening would bring a form of Armageddon. " Women will be raped in the streets " they proclaimed. " This will be the end of a civilized society."
The new drinking law came into effect with barely a murmur. Inner city pubs in the business district became much quieter and suburban pubs gained family customers. There was a huge drop in inebriated people on the trains during the evening commute and the rush just after six o'clock evened out noticeably.
Exactly the same wave of predictions preceded the law that allowed same sex couples to legally marry, The religious establishment spent a lot of money on advertisements that claimed that the " sky was falling ", and a few fanatics did refuse service to gays to make their point, but this new law settled into place with barely a ripple.
Now we have the ridiculous suggestion that we need a new law to protect religion from having to accept both students and teachers who do not adhere to church teachings into their religious schools. They want the right to discriminate and uphold the church law that same sex marriage abolished with a referendum clearly showing the wish of the Australian population.
When it comes to church schools the biggest number are provided by the Roman Catholic church which once staffed them with Priests and Nuns. Today, teachers are drawn from lay staff of many religions and children from the wide society are amongst their students, with Catholics gaining admittance preference.
In our secular society we have a mix of many religions and a huge variety of lifestyles and we insist that they be protected from discrimination. Schools that only teach a narrow religious outlook on life will not prepare their students for the experience of the wider world when they will encounter this diversity in their working and entertainment sphere. In fact, the sheltered upbringing of a religious school engenders prejudice when such students encounter others with a differing point of view.
The best way to integrate the mix of people that are the modern Australians of today is to let compliance find its own level. What we least need is a pernicious law that creates artificial obstacles behind which religion hides. What we need is protection from dogmatic religion !
The religious establishment suggested that moving " closing time " to ten in the evening would bring a form of Armageddon. " Women will be raped in the streets " they proclaimed. " This will be the end of a civilized society."
The new drinking law came into effect with barely a murmur. Inner city pubs in the business district became much quieter and suburban pubs gained family customers. There was a huge drop in inebriated people on the trains during the evening commute and the rush just after six o'clock evened out noticeably.
Exactly the same wave of predictions preceded the law that allowed same sex couples to legally marry, The religious establishment spent a lot of money on advertisements that claimed that the " sky was falling ", and a few fanatics did refuse service to gays to make their point, but this new law settled into place with barely a ripple.
Now we have the ridiculous suggestion that we need a new law to protect religion from having to accept both students and teachers who do not adhere to church teachings into their religious schools. They want the right to discriminate and uphold the church law that same sex marriage abolished with a referendum clearly showing the wish of the Australian population.
When it comes to church schools the biggest number are provided by the Roman Catholic church which once staffed them with Priests and Nuns. Today, teachers are drawn from lay staff of many religions and children from the wide society are amongst their students, with Catholics gaining admittance preference.
In our secular society we have a mix of many religions and a huge variety of lifestyles and we insist that they be protected from discrimination. Schools that only teach a narrow religious outlook on life will not prepare their students for the experience of the wider world when they will encounter this diversity in their working and entertainment sphere. In fact, the sheltered upbringing of a religious school engenders prejudice when such students encounter others with a differing point of view.
The best way to integrate the mix of people that are the modern Australians of today is to let compliance find its own level. What we least need is a pernicious law that creates artificial obstacles behind which religion hides. What we need is protection from dogmatic religion !
Thursday, 11 October 2018
The Cost of Eye Care !
Once again the cost of health insurance is under the spotlight. A proposal is being considered to divide cover into basic, bronze, silver and gold premium categories, with many existing services only provided within the more expensive options. Those proposed exclusions include cataract, bariatric, spinal and some orthopaedic surgery taken out of reach of average policy holders.
The prospect of cataract surgery becoming only affordable by the rich contrasts with the many low cost providers of this service and the general huge discounting of eye care and spectacle provision by two giant optical chains operating in Australia. It is generally conceded that the cost of eye care is now at the lowest level for decades.
As we age, our vision deteriorates and we find we hold reading matter further away to try and achieve clarity. The remedy is a quick and simple minor operation in which the lens of the eye is replaced. Most patients are astonished when the next day they open their newspaper and find they can read the print without the need for glasses.
Sadly, a lot of cataract sufferers never seek this relief because they are convinced that eye surgery will be performed without an anaesthetic. The prospect of a scalpel being applied to an eye while the patient is awake is terrifying, and that is simply a fallacy. A cataract patient undergoes a mild anaesthetic and has no memory of the procedure, which is administered without any feeling of pain or discomfort. It is indeed minor surgery and takes just a few minutes to complete.
The two widely advertised eye care chains employ trained eye technicians who operate the latest technology to determine eye health and this is covered by Medicare. The prescription spectacles they provide are heavily discounted and while they do not do cataract surgery, they provide a referral to eye surgeons who provide this service.
There are thousands of Australians with poor eyesight that could be corrected with glasses and many suffer cataract replacement needs that can not be corrected by spectacles. At the very time that eye care is becoming more affordable the health insurance industry seems inclined to take one of the basic needs of sight restoration and put it further out of reach of many people.
Perhaps the biggest disinformation repelling patients from seeking cataract surgery is this contention that it is performed without an anaesthetic. Word of mouth from patients who have had cataract surgery is slowly dispelling that untruth and it is essential that cataract replacement remains on the basic level of health insurance.
The prospect of cataract surgery becoming only affordable by the rich contrasts with the many low cost providers of this service and the general huge discounting of eye care and spectacle provision by two giant optical chains operating in Australia. It is generally conceded that the cost of eye care is now at the lowest level for decades.
As we age, our vision deteriorates and we find we hold reading matter further away to try and achieve clarity. The remedy is a quick and simple minor operation in which the lens of the eye is replaced. Most patients are astonished when the next day they open their newspaper and find they can read the print without the need for glasses.
Sadly, a lot of cataract sufferers never seek this relief because they are convinced that eye surgery will be performed without an anaesthetic. The prospect of a scalpel being applied to an eye while the patient is awake is terrifying, and that is simply a fallacy. A cataract patient undergoes a mild anaesthetic and has no memory of the procedure, which is administered without any feeling of pain or discomfort. It is indeed minor surgery and takes just a few minutes to complete.
The two widely advertised eye care chains employ trained eye technicians who operate the latest technology to determine eye health and this is covered by Medicare. The prescription spectacles they provide are heavily discounted and while they do not do cataract surgery, they provide a referral to eye surgeons who provide this service.
There are thousands of Australians with poor eyesight that could be corrected with glasses and many suffer cataract replacement needs that can not be corrected by spectacles. At the very time that eye care is becoming more affordable the health insurance industry seems inclined to take one of the basic needs of sight restoration and put it further out of reach of many people.
Perhaps the biggest disinformation repelling patients from seeking cataract surgery is this contention that it is performed without an anaesthetic. Word of mouth from patients who have had cataract surgery is slowly dispelling that untruth and it is essential that cataract replacement remains on the basic level of health insurance.
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
The Point of No Return !
It all started when James Watt invented the steam engine in 1712. The world was no longer shackled to the energy provided by the horse and the coal fired steam engine started the industrial revolution. Transport developed around the creation of the locomotive and the mining of coal became the means of sustaining employment in manufacturing.
The age of the motor car blossomed in 1908 when Henry Ford introduced assembly line production to drop the price of his Model T to what ordinary people could afford. The internal combustion engine ran on petrol and this was derived from oil. Vast oilfields were discovered and wars have been fought to divide this treasure amongst the great powers of the world.
Science has been warning us for some time that the burning of both coal and oil is releasing growing amounts of carbon dioxide which is causing the planet to warm. This warming should be apparent to those who care to see because we are experiencing hotter summers and the ice at both polar regions is melting away. The world's glaciers are retreating and we are getting increased storm events and unexpected droughts.
So far planet Earth has warmed by just one degree but the rate of heat increase is accelerating dangerously fast. Most nations have signed on to keeping global warming to no more than 1.5 degree but there are indications that it will reach 2 degrees between the middle and end of this century, and that will be catastrophic. The melting of the polar ice will raise sea levels and flood most world cities.
We are fast reaching the point of no return. That is the balance when global warming is out of control and beyond the ability of humans to control. That is likely to be reached a decade from now - or at the most two decades into the future. We will then start the devolution process to where this planet can no longer provide a home for the human race.
World governments are paying lip service to global warming, but taking no constructive remedial action. The necessities are just too disruptive and the politicians fear the public reaction to a lowered standard of living. Unfortunately, what we need to do in Australia will result in job losses and a lowering of our balance of trade figures.
We need to force the introduction of electric cars to eliminate the internal combustion engine and its thirst for petrol derived from oil. A five year phase out of conventional cars would impose a financial hardship that would affect most families, but that is the price we would have to pay to save the planet.
We need to cease mining coal and exporting it to other countries to mill steel and generate electricity, and we need to stop burning coal to generate electricity here. That means higher power prices in the short term, but hydro, wind and solar can eventually fill the gap. Unfortunately, coal exports represent a big segment of our trading balance with other countries. The loss of coal mining jobs will adversely affect our economy.
Basically, we need to decide whether we can afford to not make these changes. The harsh realities that global warming will impose will fall on the lives of the children we are now bringing into this world. This is not an outcome for centuries into the future. This is the reality of life on Earth by the middle of this century.
Saving the planet comes at a price. Not making the attempt comes at a much higher price which we will all have to pay.
The age of the motor car blossomed in 1908 when Henry Ford introduced assembly line production to drop the price of his Model T to what ordinary people could afford. The internal combustion engine ran on petrol and this was derived from oil. Vast oilfields were discovered and wars have been fought to divide this treasure amongst the great powers of the world.
Science has been warning us for some time that the burning of both coal and oil is releasing growing amounts of carbon dioxide which is causing the planet to warm. This warming should be apparent to those who care to see because we are experiencing hotter summers and the ice at both polar regions is melting away. The world's glaciers are retreating and we are getting increased storm events and unexpected droughts.
So far planet Earth has warmed by just one degree but the rate of heat increase is accelerating dangerously fast. Most nations have signed on to keeping global warming to no more than 1.5 degree but there are indications that it will reach 2 degrees between the middle and end of this century, and that will be catastrophic. The melting of the polar ice will raise sea levels and flood most world cities.
We are fast reaching the point of no return. That is the balance when global warming is out of control and beyond the ability of humans to control. That is likely to be reached a decade from now - or at the most two decades into the future. We will then start the devolution process to where this planet can no longer provide a home for the human race.
World governments are paying lip service to global warming, but taking no constructive remedial action. The necessities are just too disruptive and the politicians fear the public reaction to a lowered standard of living. Unfortunately, what we need to do in Australia will result in job losses and a lowering of our balance of trade figures.
We need to force the introduction of electric cars to eliminate the internal combustion engine and its thirst for petrol derived from oil. A five year phase out of conventional cars would impose a financial hardship that would affect most families, but that is the price we would have to pay to save the planet.
We need to cease mining coal and exporting it to other countries to mill steel and generate electricity, and we need to stop burning coal to generate electricity here. That means higher power prices in the short term, but hydro, wind and solar can eventually fill the gap. Unfortunately, coal exports represent a big segment of our trading balance with other countries. The loss of coal mining jobs will adversely affect our economy.
Basically, we need to decide whether we can afford to not make these changes. The harsh realities that global warming will impose will fall on the lives of the children we are now bringing into this world. This is not an outcome for centuries into the future. This is the reality of life on Earth by the middle of this century.
Saving the planet comes at a price. Not making the attempt comes at a much higher price which we will all have to pay.
Tuesday, 9 October 2018
A Loss of Trust !
The Founding Fathers of the American state were careful to ensure that the vote of the people would be measured against the Constitution as any law change would have to pass the scrutiny of the overlapping court system, terminating at its peak with the decisions of the High court.
Judges appointed to the High court serve for the remainder of their lifetime, and when a vacancy occurs the President puts forward a nominee who must be confirmed by the Senate. These confirmation hearings delve into that judge's past case record and carefully examine his or her life style and media comments, looking for bias that might determine the nature of their
future decision making. It was usual for the confirmation to be a balanced vote between the Senate political parties which ensured the nominee was acceptable to both sides of politics.
During Barak Obama's terms in office he succeeded in filling two High court vacancies. Sonia Sotomayor joined the bench with a Senate vote of 68/31 and Elena Kagan with 63/37, but during his last year in office the death of sitting member Antonin Scalia presented the need for a new nominee - and politics disturbed this voting precedent.
Obama proposed Merrick Garland but the Republican party had the numbers in the Senate and they refused to conduct a confirmation hearing or put the nominee to a vote. The vacancy remained unfilled when Donald Trump won office and he successfully seated a judge, but his next nominee - Brett Kavanaugh - struck trouble when a woman accused him of a sexual attack many years earlier when they were both attending high school. Public opinion divided the nation but eventually Kavanaugh was confirmed on a vote of 50/48, the closest ever in US history.
This intrusion of politics into the hallowed selection of High court judges has probably tainted the respect accorded High court judgement decisions forever. The Republican party has a conservative agenda and Kavanaugh will be regarded as Trump's " creature " and High court decisions may swing sharply to the right. It is possible that Republican pressure to elevate Kavanaugh might deliver a Democrat controlled Senate at the forthcoming mid term election and that the Democrats may balance the High court by forcing a nominee of their choice in a similar partisan vote when the opportunity occurs.
In essence, Kavanaugh seemed a suitable contender for the High court until that sexual attack matter arose and he might have been wise to withdraw. He denied the accusation but the " Me Too " movement acrimony will haunt his decisions and colour the grace in which future High court decisions will receive public acceptance. In the eyes of many Americans, Trump has succeeded in imposing a Republican traitor to influence the decisions of the High court to his liking.
The danger is that a Conservative High court may reverse past decisions on abortion and same sex marriage, which would be unacceptable to a vast sector of the public. The intrusion of politics into the High court is destroying the consensus that existed which caused ordinary Americans to accept the wisdom of that court even when it contrasted with their own views.
Now that politics have cast a shadow on the highest court in the land, a return to normalcy seems impossible !
Judges appointed to the High court serve for the remainder of their lifetime, and when a vacancy occurs the President puts forward a nominee who must be confirmed by the Senate. These confirmation hearings delve into that judge's past case record and carefully examine his or her life style and media comments, looking for bias that might determine the nature of their
future decision making. It was usual for the confirmation to be a balanced vote between the Senate political parties which ensured the nominee was acceptable to both sides of politics.
During Barak Obama's terms in office he succeeded in filling two High court vacancies. Sonia Sotomayor joined the bench with a Senate vote of 68/31 and Elena Kagan with 63/37, but during his last year in office the death of sitting member Antonin Scalia presented the need for a new nominee - and politics disturbed this voting precedent.
Obama proposed Merrick Garland but the Republican party had the numbers in the Senate and they refused to conduct a confirmation hearing or put the nominee to a vote. The vacancy remained unfilled when Donald Trump won office and he successfully seated a judge, but his next nominee - Brett Kavanaugh - struck trouble when a woman accused him of a sexual attack many years earlier when they were both attending high school. Public opinion divided the nation but eventually Kavanaugh was confirmed on a vote of 50/48, the closest ever in US history.
This intrusion of politics into the hallowed selection of High court judges has probably tainted the respect accorded High court judgement decisions forever. The Republican party has a conservative agenda and Kavanaugh will be regarded as Trump's " creature " and High court decisions may swing sharply to the right. It is possible that Republican pressure to elevate Kavanaugh might deliver a Democrat controlled Senate at the forthcoming mid term election and that the Democrats may balance the High court by forcing a nominee of their choice in a similar partisan vote when the opportunity occurs.
In essence, Kavanaugh seemed a suitable contender for the High court until that sexual attack matter arose and he might have been wise to withdraw. He denied the accusation but the " Me Too " movement acrimony will haunt his decisions and colour the grace in which future High court decisions will receive public acceptance. In the eyes of many Americans, Trump has succeeded in imposing a Republican traitor to influence the decisions of the High court to his liking.
The danger is that a Conservative High court may reverse past decisions on abortion and same sex marriage, which would be unacceptable to a vast sector of the public. The intrusion of politics into the High court is destroying the consensus that existed which caused ordinary Americans to accept the wisdom of that court even when it contrasted with their own views.
Now that politics have cast a shadow on the highest court in the land, a return to normalcy seems impossible !
Monday, 8 October 2018
The Right to Harass !
Abortion is an emotive issue and because it depends on state legislation the laws that cover it are different in the various Australian states. Where it is freely available it is usually provided by what are called " Abortion clinics " and these were attended by groups of people who blocked the footpath outside and verbally harassed women intending to visit the clinic. At times this formed a physical barrier and they carried lurid protest signs and delivered emotional blackmail to patrons wrestling with this ultimate of personal decisions.
Victoria and Tasmania enacted privacy laws to require groups protesting against abortion to distance themselves one hundred and fifty metres away from clinic entrances. These " safe access zone " laws came into effect in 2016 and when protesters ignored them they were hauled into court and fined. One woman fined $5,000 for this offence is challenging her conviction in the High court on the grounds that her right to political free speech has been violated.
This issue of abortion is as old as the history of humankind itself and represents a collision between church and judicial law. The Roman Catholic church forbids abortion in all circumstances, but it also forbids all forms of artificial contraception and this harks back to an earlier age when having numerous children was a safeguard to ensure a safe old age. There was no social security and death claimed many children so large numbers were necessary to ensure some survived to care for their parents.
The modern family of today is more concerned with providing a good standard of living and the education that will enable a smaller number of children to progress in our competitive environment. The progression of medicine has ensured that survival rates are ever expanding and the practice of family groups all living their lives within a small circle of place of birth has expanded to world circulation.
In many countries, the right of the church to impose its views by way of civil law has been slow to lose its grip and religious fanatics insist that church law is ascendant over civil law, giving them the right to ignore laws that are in conflict with church teachings. Where this is decided by democratic process the will of the majority takes precedence.
Pregnancy carries with it the responsibility conferred by that same civil law to provide food and nurture for that infant that may not be possible with the family circumstances that prevail. Many woman attend abortion clinics for counselling and they should be protected from screeching harridans heaping abuse, standing in front of them and blocking their path and issuing vile threats. Where a parliament has seen fit to provide that protection, the law requires that it be enforced.
Whether the High court decides to rule on this issue is yet to be decided, but in two states a law is in place that forbids the anti abortion brigade from returning to that past congregation on the doorstep of abortion clinics to prevent entry. That " right to harass " ended when this law became valid !
Victoria and Tasmania enacted privacy laws to require groups protesting against abortion to distance themselves one hundred and fifty metres away from clinic entrances. These " safe access zone " laws came into effect in 2016 and when protesters ignored them they were hauled into court and fined. One woman fined $5,000 for this offence is challenging her conviction in the High court on the grounds that her right to political free speech has been violated.
This issue of abortion is as old as the history of humankind itself and represents a collision between church and judicial law. The Roman Catholic church forbids abortion in all circumstances, but it also forbids all forms of artificial contraception and this harks back to an earlier age when having numerous children was a safeguard to ensure a safe old age. There was no social security and death claimed many children so large numbers were necessary to ensure some survived to care for their parents.
The modern family of today is more concerned with providing a good standard of living and the education that will enable a smaller number of children to progress in our competitive environment. The progression of medicine has ensured that survival rates are ever expanding and the practice of family groups all living their lives within a small circle of place of birth has expanded to world circulation.
In many countries, the right of the church to impose its views by way of civil law has been slow to lose its grip and religious fanatics insist that church law is ascendant over civil law, giving them the right to ignore laws that are in conflict with church teachings. Where this is decided by democratic process the will of the majority takes precedence.
Pregnancy carries with it the responsibility conferred by that same civil law to provide food and nurture for that infant that may not be possible with the family circumstances that prevail. Many woman attend abortion clinics for counselling and they should be protected from screeching harridans heaping abuse, standing in front of them and blocking their path and issuing vile threats. Where a parliament has seen fit to provide that protection, the law requires that it be enforced.
Whether the High court decides to rule on this issue is yet to be decided, but in two states a law is in place that forbids the anti abortion brigade from returning to that past congregation on the doorstep of abortion clinics to prevent entry. That " right to harass " ended when this law became valid !
Sunday, 7 October 2018
A Poison with Benefits !
The Australian Funnel Web spider is rightly feared because for a long time no antidote for its venom existed. One of the problems was that its poison was so rare it only affected two species on planet Earth - mice and us humans. That severely restricted researchers testing ability, but eventually an antidote was forthcoming.
Now a Queensland research institute has made a valuable discovery which will help tame the epidemic of skin cancer which the Australian outdoor lifestyle fosters. A peptide has been extracted from the venom gland of the funnel web spider which has been found to kill melanoma in humans and it delivers almost no negative effects on surrounding healthy cells.
It will require extensive further research because it is unclear whether the benefit of this peptide comes from the spiders venom or its blood, or a mixture of both, but it does promise a whole new industry with spider breeding facilities where the venom will be milked to provide the base ingredient of a pharmaceutical product.
What has got researchers excited is the discovery that this new peptide also has the potential to eradicate the facial cancer that is killing off the Tasmanian Devil. Cancer free colonies have been established on mainland Australia to try and preserve the species, but the numbers in the Tasmanian bush are dwindling as the disease spreads to unaffected parts of the island state.
It has been said that Australia is the melanoma capital of the world. Our love of beach culture results in exposure to the sun and many still value a sun tanned skin and refuse to cover up on the hottest part of the day. Extensive advertising campaigns have persuaded school children to wear hats and school play areas are now screened but most people need to have " sun spots " treated by their GP's on a regular basis.
What is interesting is the conversion of a spider that has long been feared into the donor of a cure for a common problem that is killing a lot of people. The funnel web spider is unique to this country and we have been doing our best to exterminate it. Hopefully, this successful research will draw interest in the variety of deadly poisons found in both land and sea in this country. Most will have been researched to seek an antidote, but many may have untold wonders in other areas of science awaiting evaluation.
One of the problems facing world medicine is the growing tendency for disease to gain ascendency over antibiotics. It seems quite possible that plants and venoms that are unique to this country may hold the answer to a new discovery that may solve that problem. Finding a cure for melanoma from the venom of a spider shows that the impossible - is possible !
Now a Queensland research institute has made a valuable discovery which will help tame the epidemic of skin cancer which the Australian outdoor lifestyle fosters. A peptide has been extracted from the venom gland of the funnel web spider which has been found to kill melanoma in humans and it delivers almost no negative effects on surrounding healthy cells.
It will require extensive further research because it is unclear whether the benefit of this peptide comes from the spiders venom or its blood, or a mixture of both, but it does promise a whole new industry with spider breeding facilities where the venom will be milked to provide the base ingredient of a pharmaceutical product.
What has got researchers excited is the discovery that this new peptide also has the potential to eradicate the facial cancer that is killing off the Tasmanian Devil. Cancer free colonies have been established on mainland Australia to try and preserve the species, but the numbers in the Tasmanian bush are dwindling as the disease spreads to unaffected parts of the island state.
It has been said that Australia is the melanoma capital of the world. Our love of beach culture results in exposure to the sun and many still value a sun tanned skin and refuse to cover up on the hottest part of the day. Extensive advertising campaigns have persuaded school children to wear hats and school play areas are now screened but most people need to have " sun spots " treated by their GP's on a regular basis.
What is interesting is the conversion of a spider that has long been feared into the donor of a cure for a common problem that is killing a lot of people. The funnel web spider is unique to this country and we have been doing our best to exterminate it. Hopefully, this successful research will draw interest in the variety of deadly poisons found in both land and sea in this country. Most will have been researched to seek an antidote, but many may have untold wonders in other areas of science awaiting evaluation.
One of the problems facing world medicine is the growing tendency for disease to gain ascendency over antibiotics. It seems quite possible that plants and venoms that are unique to this country may hold the answer to a new discovery that may solve that problem. Finding a cure for melanoma from the venom of a spider shows that the impossible - is possible !
Saturday, 6 October 2018
Danger Signals !
In the last half of the twentieth century it was overwhelmingly clear that the United States was the most advanced military power in the world. Neither Russia or China could convincingly expect to win a shooting war with the United States and the nuclear option simply offered mutual annihilation. For that reason we had an uneasy peace between these main powers with proxy skirmishes taking place on the sidelines.
It is evident that in todays world one of the great advantages of the democratic system is being used against us. We cherish the right to say or print without any form of censorship and this very medium is being used to create social disharmony. The enemies that can not defeat the west in a military confrontation seek to destroy our society from within by a campaign of misinformation that is being agonisingly successful.
Russia has undertaken a state controlled and well financed subversive movement that is guiding public opinion by infiltrating " fake news " through the Facebook and Twittersphere that is designed to achieve desired election results and divide public thinking. An elaborate network of " bots " sustains the momentum of the divisive subjects introduced.
China is using its network of students studying at foreign universities to exert pressure within host countries and sway public opinion. Profits from its trading position are being used to finance public works in client states. Many of these constitute " money traps " and when repayments fail a negotiated settlement often involves ownership of a trading port or an airbase. The Chinese are cleverly massaging public opinion with the use of these gifts.
This propaganda offensive is a one sided deal. All forms of media are strictly controlled and censored by the Chinese Communist party and a similar environment is inflicted within Russia. Intimidation and the police ensure that only information cleared by the state reaches the public and any form of opposition is instantly silenced.
In America, one of the outcomes of this disinformation campaign was clearly the election of Donald Trump to presidential office back in 2016. Trump won office by blatant lies that appealed to his lower classes and his actions in office have appalled both the military and the civilian administrations. The military response to an external threat would now be subject to doubt about the validity of presidential orders.
But perhaps the biggest threat to American stability is coming from the intrusion of politics into all decisions of the Congress and the Senate. The custom of decision making across the aisle has vanished and this is most evident in selection of a candidate for the High court. That has degenerated into an implacable contest between the two main political parties and consequently the courts decisions may swing sharply conservative and that could imperil legislation that is important to a major population segment.
It is quite possible that what the high court hands down may divide the United States into a social division that is little short of a new civil war. That may stop short of actual conflict but a divided America could not continue to lead in world affairs and that could result in a new world order - which would not be to Australia's advantage.
It seems that we live in troubled times !
It is evident that in todays world one of the great advantages of the democratic system is being used against us. We cherish the right to say or print without any form of censorship and this very medium is being used to create social disharmony. The enemies that can not defeat the west in a military confrontation seek to destroy our society from within by a campaign of misinformation that is being agonisingly successful.
Russia has undertaken a state controlled and well financed subversive movement that is guiding public opinion by infiltrating " fake news " through the Facebook and Twittersphere that is designed to achieve desired election results and divide public thinking. An elaborate network of " bots " sustains the momentum of the divisive subjects introduced.
China is using its network of students studying at foreign universities to exert pressure within host countries and sway public opinion. Profits from its trading position are being used to finance public works in client states. Many of these constitute " money traps " and when repayments fail a negotiated settlement often involves ownership of a trading port or an airbase. The Chinese are cleverly massaging public opinion with the use of these gifts.
This propaganda offensive is a one sided deal. All forms of media are strictly controlled and censored by the Chinese Communist party and a similar environment is inflicted within Russia. Intimidation and the police ensure that only information cleared by the state reaches the public and any form of opposition is instantly silenced.
In America, one of the outcomes of this disinformation campaign was clearly the election of Donald Trump to presidential office back in 2016. Trump won office by blatant lies that appealed to his lower classes and his actions in office have appalled both the military and the civilian administrations. The military response to an external threat would now be subject to doubt about the validity of presidential orders.
But perhaps the biggest threat to American stability is coming from the intrusion of politics into all decisions of the Congress and the Senate. The custom of decision making across the aisle has vanished and this is most evident in selection of a candidate for the High court. That has degenerated into an implacable contest between the two main political parties and consequently the courts decisions may swing sharply conservative and that could imperil legislation that is important to a major population segment.
It is quite possible that what the high court hands down may divide the United States into a social division that is little short of a new civil war. That may stop short of actual conflict but a divided America could not continue to lead in world affairs and that could result in a new world order - which would not be to Australia's advantage.
It seems that we live in troubled times !
Friday, 5 October 2018
Forensics Advance !
The police forensics division plays a big part in television crime stories and in real life scenarios it has solved many high profile cases, but it does have limitations and one of them is the cost. If our home is burgled we expect the cops to dust the house for fingerprints and seek DNA samples everywhere the burglar may have touched.
This is very much a " hit or miss " process. The results of DNA swabs will not be known until much later when the laboratory crew have done their job and that investigation of each swab will take about four hours, and cost somewhere between thirty and sixty dollars. No wonder crime investigations reserve DNA testing to important criminal cases.
That is about to change, thanks to a break through made by Australian researchers. They have discovered a dye that highlights the presence of DNA at a crime scene rather than just swabbing blindly on a best practice basis and making good assumptions. This dye reverses that process. Applying the dye to a door handle will reveal if DNA is present immediately because it will fluoresce instantly. The laboratory people will then deliver the identity of that DNA match quickly and at reduced cost.
Crime laboratories reveal that criminals have another problem to worry about. It takes more than a mere touch to leave identifiable DNA and some people leave more of a deposit than others. They are known as " shedders " and - curiously - men shed more DNA than women. A clever criminal who repeatedly washes his hands would leave a lesser DNA print than a person who ignores that cleansing process, but DNA is now a more useful way of tracking the perpetrators of crime.
The fact that DNA analysis is both quicker and cheaper because the number of swabs needed to be tested are now reduced means it will be a tool of more crime investigations, and as crime is committed by a hard core of criminals the data base of DNA is ever widening. It is one of the tenets of policing that every criminal always leaves something behind at a crime scene.
DNA is present in many forms. If the criminal is a smoker, a discarded cigarette butt will deliver a DNA sample. Even urinating will deliver the identity to a crime researcher and if the bandit is nervous the sweat from any part of the body will respond to this new dye. Every minute he remains on the crime scene will accentuate the risk.
The testing authorities are moving ever closer to the "Holy Grail ". The air we exude from our lungs when we breathe contains DNA samples and when this settles on the surfaces within a room we may eventually be able to clearly identify individuals. Crime investigations of the future may not need to find something the criminal actually touched. The mere presence at the crime scene would provide that identification !
This is very much a " hit or miss " process. The results of DNA swabs will not be known until much later when the laboratory crew have done their job and that investigation of each swab will take about four hours, and cost somewhere between thirty and sixty dollars. No wonder crime investigations reserve DNA testing to important criminal cases.
That is about to change, thanks to a break through made by Australian researchers. They have discovered a dye that highlights the presence of DNA at a crime scene rather than just swabbing blindly on a best practice basis and making good assumptions. This dye reverses that process. Applying the dye to a door handle will reveal if DNA is present immediately because it will fluoresce instantly. The laboratory people will then deliver the identity of that DNA match quickly and at reduced cost.
Crime laboratories reveal that criminals have another problem to worry about. It takes more than a mere touch to leave identifiable DNA and some people leave more of a deposit than others. They are known as " shedders " and - curiously - men shed more DNA than women. A clever criminal who repeatedly washes his hands would leave a lesser DNA print than a person who ignores that cleansing process, but DNA is now a more useful way of tracking the perpetrators of crime.
The fact that DNA analysis is both quicker and cheaper because the number of swabs needed to be tested are now reduced means it will be a tool of more crime investigations, and as crime is committed by a hard core of criminals the data base of DNA is ever widening. It is one of the tenets of policing that every criminal always leaves something behind at a crime scene.
DNA is present in many forms. If the criminal is a smoker, a discarded cigarette butt will deliver a DNA sample. Even urinating will deliver the identity to a crime researcher and if the bandit is nervous the sweat from any part of the body will respond to this new dye. Every minute he remains on the crime scene will accentuate the risk.
The testing authorities are moving ever closer to the "Holy Grail ". The air we exude from our lungs when we breathe contains DNA samples and when this settles on the surfaces within a room we may eventually be able to clearly identify individuals. Crime investigations of the future may not need to find something the criminal actually touched. The mere presence at the crime scene would provide that identification !
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Genetic Testing !
The ultimate tragedy for most families is to bring a child into the world who will suffer a debilitating lifestyle because the genetics of its parents had the misfortune to pass on a rare disease such as Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), cystic fibrosis or fragile X syndrome. Not only will that child's life be brief but the cost of medical treatment will be financially crippling.
Couples intending parenthood can have their genes tested at an out of pocket cost of about four hundred dollars, and some do. If both parents have the same gene mutation this carries the risk to their children and in some cases they decide to remain childless - or abandon the intended union. Such decisions remove the ongoing risk that any surviving children become the carriers that continue to spread these diseases.
The federal government's Medical Research Futures Fund is contemplating offering free testing to detect up to five hundred outcomes that could affect children conceived by parents with those gene mutations. It is estimated that the disclosure rate from such a testing programme will be somewhere between one and three percent of those tested. The chances of a couple both sharing the same gene mutation is very low.
This twenty million dollar trial plan is scheduled to start recruiting in 2019 and those tested will be told if their genes deliver a positive mismatch, but the decision on having children remains with them. Those who decide to proceed to have children have a one in four chance that their child will be affected, and a one in two chance of that child being a carrier of the disease.
Unfortunately, love is not a rational emotion and some couples will only find out about their gene mismatch after an affected child is born. It is hoped that genetic testing will become so widespread that these rare diseases will be wiped out, but we should also be aware that such testing may become a permanent stain on the medical record the government is insisting must be compiled on our Medicare file for instant referral in a medical emergency.
We are assured that our medical details will remain confidential and locked away until we choose to release them to treating medical professionals , but that precludes their intended use when that medical emergency prevents us giving that permission. Ideally, that record needs to be available to all hospitals and doctors who find us in their hands.
Is it possible that a future government may forbid children to those with mismatched genes ? Is it possible that children born in defiance of such a ban would be excluded from our free health system and their treatment made a charge on the parents ? Would those with mismatched genes be excluded from volunteering as blood donors ?
By law, the results of any medical test known must be disclosed when asked on legal documents. This is a marvellous chance to stop the birth of children with serious genetically caused diseases by bringing the cause to the attention of intending parents, but we would be wise to consider all the future ramifications.
Couples intending parenthood can have their genes tested at an out of pocket cost of about four hundred dollars, and some do. If both parents have the same gene mutation this carries the risk to their children and in some cases they decide to remain childless - or abandon the intended union. Such decisions remove the ongoing risk that any surviving children become the carriers that continue to spread these diseases.
The federal government's Medical Research Futures Fund is contemplating offering free testing to detect up to five hundred outcomes that could affect children conceived by parents with those gene mutations. It is estimated that the disclosure rate from such a testing programme will be somewhere between one and three percent of those tested. The chances of a couple both sharing the same gene mutation is very low.
This twenty million dollar trial plan is scheduled to start recruiting in 2019 and those tested will be told if their genes deliver a positive mismatch, but the decision on having children remains with them. Those who decide to proceed to have children have a one in four chance that their child will be affected, and a one in two chance of that child being a carrier of the disease.
Unfortunately, love is not a rational emotion and some couples will only find out about their gene mismatch after an affected child is born. It is hoped that genetic testing will become so widespread that these rare diseases will be wiped out, but we should also be aware that such testing may become a permanent stain on the medical record the government is insisting must be compiled on our Medicare file for instant referral in a medical emergency.
We are assured that our medical details will remain confidential and locked away until we choose to release them to treating medical professionals , but that precludes their intended use when that medical emergency prevents us giving that permission. Ideally, that record needs to be available to all hospitals and doctors who find us in their hands.
Is it possible that a future government may forbid children to those with mismatched genes ? Is it possible that children born in defiance of such a ban would be excluded from our free health system and their treatment made a charge on the parents ? Would those with mismatched genes be excluded from volunteering as blood donors ?
By law, the results of any medical test known must be disclosed when asked on legal documents. This is a marvellous chance to stop the birth of children with serious genetically caused diseases by bringing the cause to the attention of intending parents, but we would be wise to consider all the future ramifications.
Wednesday, 3 October 2018
On the Brink !
In that nursery rhyme, Chicken Little ran through the village hysterically shouting " The sky is falling " and this created a panic. The news that Sydney house prices have fallen by a little over six percent right at the markets traditional seasonal bump is having a similar effect. The sad news is that it seems to have a further retreat pending, and twelve percent is the estimate of the merchants of doom.
Unfortunately, the day by day way price expectations increased in recent years has been a " pricing bubble " that must inevitably burst. It was simply the law of supply and demand, and with demand exceeding supply the price moved ever upward. People paid unrealistic prices in the expectation that the market would move to cover their exposure.
The timing of this price retreat is terrible. The banking Royal Commission has laid bare the greed and corruption endemic in Australian banking and much of this was reflected in the home finance market. In many cases the ability of home purchasers to adequately service their mortgage was ignored and new owners entered the market with a mortgage that came perilously close to the purchase price. Often, what little served as owner equity was a gift or loan from family or friends.
Many rushed to get a foot on the Real Estate ladder at any cost. There was the expectation that if repayments became difficult, the property could be returned to the market and even deliver a nice profit. The important thing was to gain a foothold before the housing price passed beyond the reach of the average buyer.
We are probably about to see a repeat of the market meltdown that followed the 2008 global recession. Many buyers will hesitate to commit on the expectation that prices will fall further. The banks and finance industry will be quick to repossess when mortgages fall into arrears and a glut of bank owned properties reappearing on the market will further depress prices. In 08 the banks made no attempt to stem the losses by offering such properties on the rental market or ensuring that they were maintained in a presentable condition. Banks simply lacked the expertise to market what their finance activities had returned to their keeping.
Perhaps the only saving grace is that the Reserve Bank of Australia will certainly hesitate to increase the interest rate as has been predicted for some time. There was the expectation that a rise was imminent and that is likely to be deferred to 2020 or longer. A lot depends on movements on world interest and the tariff trade war between America and China is likely to put that on hold until the situation clarifies.
It looks inevitable that we are facing a housing price shakeout. Most recent buyers may find the offering market below what they paid and even suffer a valuation below what they owe on their mortgage. They would be wise to stick with this potential loss because - as happened in 2008 - the market will eventually recover and again start to rise and a home will be the most valuable asset achieved by the average person.
As Chicken Little discovered, the sky didn't fall and that rumour turned out to be a fallacy. The security of living in a home you own - or are paying off - is still the anchor to your financial stability and expectation of a comfortable old age. What we are seeing now is a price illusion that is returning to reality !
Unfortunately, the day by day way price expectations increased in recent years has been a " pricing bubble " that must inevitably burst. It was simply the law of supply and demand, and with demand exceeding supply the price moved ever upward. People paid unrealistic prices in the expectation that the market would move to cover their exposure.
The timing of this price retreat is terrible. The banking Royal Commission has laid bare the greed and corruption endemic in Australian banking and much of this was reflected in the home finance market. In many cases the ability of home purchasers to adequately service their mortgage was ignored and new owners entered the market with a mortgage that came perilously close to the purchase price. Often, what little served as owner equity was a gift or loan from family or friends.
Many rushed to get a foot on the Real Estate ladder at any cost. There was the expectation that if repayments became difficult, the property could be returned to the market and even deliver a nice profit. The important thing was to gain a foothold before the housing price passed beyond the reach of the average buyer.
We are probably about to see a repeat of the market meltdown that followed the 2008 global recession. Many buyers will hesitate to commit on the expectation that prices will fall further. The banks and finance industry will be quick to repossess when mortgages fall into arrears and a glut of bank owned properties reappearing on the market will further depress prices. In 08 the banks made no attempt to stem the losses by offering such properties on the rental market or ensuring that they were maintained in a presentable condition. Banks simply lacked the expertise to market what their finance activities had returned to their keeping.
Perhaps the only saving grace is that the Reserve Bank of Australia will certainly hesitate to increase the interest rate as has been predicted for some time. There was the expectation that a rise was imminent and that is likely to be deferred to 2020 or longer. A lot depends on movements on world interest and the tariff trade war between America and China is likely to put that on hold until the situation clarifies.
It looks inevitable that we are facing a housing price shakeout. Most recent buyers may find the offering market below what they paid and even suffer a valuation below what they owe on their mortgage. They would be wise to stick with this potential loss because - as happened in 2008 - the market will eventually recover and again start to rise and a home will be the most valuable asset achieved by the average person.
As Chicken Little discovered, the sky didn't fall and that rumour turned out to be a fallacy. The security of living in a home you own - or are paying off - is still the anchor to your financial stability and expectation of a comfortable old age. What we are seeing now is a price illusion that is returning to reality !
Tuesday, 2 October 2018
The Lottery of Death !
This long weekend produced peak traffic loads on our roads, and just as inevitably the death toll rose, but one car crash caught the public attention to a marked degree. A young family was helping their seventeen year old sister accrue the driving hours to gain her driving license by accompanying her as a driving instructor as required by law. The husband was sitting beside the driver and his 23 year old wife was in the backseat. Tragically, she was eight months pregnant - with twins.
This was a very normal driving scene, until they encountered another car travelling at high speed on the adjoining divided roadway. That car lost control, crossed the grass stretch between the roads and crashed into them head-on, killing the seventeen year old driver and the pregnant woman - and her twins. Her husband is in hospital with critical injuries and his survival is not certain.
The 29 year old speeding driver also suffered serious injuries and has been charged with manslaughter at a bedside court. It is estimated that he was at least forty-five kph over the speed limit and did not have a valid driving license. He has a previous conviction history of driving without a license.
The loss of those unborn twins horrified many people and we await news about whether alcohol or drugs contributed to this tragedy. Yet speeding is something we encounter on a daily basis. It is not uncommon to have a car whiz past us at velocity higher than the posted speed limit and that delivers a risk to all other on the road. In due course, the man who killed four innocent people will face court and receive punishment for the crime.
What punishment can possible atone for the damage that has been done ? A term in prison seems certain, but he will eventually be released and there is no certainty that time behind bars will cure his need for speed. Simply cancelling his driving license will not remove the danger. It is likely he will drive without a license with no respect for the law.
Fortunately, the average driver behaves sensibly for most of the time and the traffic usually curbs the opportunity to speed on many occasions, but when we get behind the wheel we are controlling a battering ram that consists of more than a tonne of metal that terrorists now consider to be a weapon of war.
Considering the number of cars on the road the deaths from car accidents is probably remarkably low but it is a fact of life that we face risk every time we get behind the wheel and drive. When the news cameras record a sobering sight like the wreckage of those two cars demolished in a head-on, the effect on driver behaviour has a calming restraint. Unfortunately, it does not last long.
Hopefully, a thought of those unborn twins tragically killed may resonate in some minds when our foot becomes impatient on the accelerator.
This was a very normal driving scene, until they encountered another car travelling at high speed on the adjoining divided roadway. That car lost control, crossed the grass stretch between the roads and crashed into them head-on, killing the seventeen year old driver and the pregnant woman - and her twins. Her husband is in hospital with critical injuries and his survival is not certain.
The 29 year old speeding driver also suffered serious injuries and has been charged with manslaughter at a bedside court. It is estimated that he was at least forty-five kph over the speed limit and did not have a valid driving license. He has a previous conviction history of driving without a license.
The loss of those unborn twins horrified many people and we await news about whether alcohol or drugs contributed to this tragedy. Yet speeding is something we encounter on a daily basis. It is not uncommon to have a car whiz past us at velocity higher than the posted speed limit and that delivers a risk to all other on the road. In due course, the man who killed four innocent people will face court and receive punishment for the crime.
What punishment can possible atone for the damage that has been done ? A term in prison seems certain, but he will eventually be released and there is no certainty that time behind bars will cure his need for speed. Simply cancelling his driving license will not remove the danger. It is likely he will drive without a license with no respect for the law.
Fortunately, the average driver behaves sensibly for most of the time and the traffic usually curbs the opportunity to speed on many occasions, but when we get behind the wheel we are controlling a battering ram that consists of more than a tonne of metal that terrorists now consider to be a weapon of war.
Considering the number of cars on the road the deaths from car accidents is probably remarkably low but it is a fact of life that we face risk every time we get behind the wheel and drive. When the news cameras record a sobering sight like the wreckage of those two cars demolished in a head-on, the effect on driver behaviour has a calming restraint. Unfortunately, it does not last long.
Hopefully, a thought of those unborn twins tragically killed may resonate in some minds when our foot becomes impatient on the accelerator.
Monday, 1 October 2018
The " Dark Side " of Plastic !
Have you noticed that brushing your teeth each morning now feels slightly " different ? The toothpaste you use lacks that foamy abrasiveness that washed away the overnight " gunk " that delivers "morning breath " and polishes your smile. There is also something different about the soap when you step into the shower. As it ages the bar of soap tends to feel " dry " and reluctant to deliver a healthy lather.
The reason is because the manufactures have been forced by government edict to remove the tiny rough balls of plastic that delivered the abrasive content to soap, toothpaste and all those laundry products that needed them to expel grime. They were a by-product of the oil industry and were considered harmless, until we discovered that they were entering the food chain and ending up in human bodies.
They are called " nurdles " and consist of tiny plastic pellets that wash away when we shower or rinse away toothpaste and eventually they find their way to the oceans. Examined under a microscope they appear transparent, similar to baby teeth and they are the raw material used in almost all plastic products. When they form part of any detergent their residue is washed away with water and so they begin their journey to the world's oceans.
The fact that they are so tiny caused us to think they were harmless, but at the bottom of the food chain are tiny microscopic creatures that see them as food and ingest them. In the course of the food cycle, these tiny creatures become a meal for something a bit larger, and that process continues until these nurdles find their way into fish and prawns which we - as the ultimate predators of the food chain - include in our diet.
Along the way, nurdles are indigestible when they enter the food chain of birds, turtles and a whole range of creatures that find them lowering their stomach capacity and causing them to starve. They are the reason many animal species have lower numbers to the point of becoming extinct. Fortunately, we humans have an extended life expectancy, but we are finding that these nurdles are being absorbed into the tissue of our bodies and may eventually have a detrimental effect to our health.
We thought we had the situation under control with the filtering process that processed the water discharged from sewage treatment plants trapping nurdles but they are continuing to appear in the water near our beaches. The government has ordered their elimination or reduction in cleansing products and a higher intensity screening in discharge procedures at water plants, but the long term effect on the human body is yet to be fully measured.
We have to find a harmless substitute to this oil industry by-product. Less effective soap and toothpaste is the price we have to pay to reduce extinction in the animal kingdom and guard against the long term effects of their absorption into the human body. Unfortunately, in the decades we have relied on oil to power industry, much of the damage has already been done !
The reason is because the manufactures have been forced by government edict to remove the tiny rough balls of plastic that delivered the abrasive content to soap, toothpaste and all those laundry products that needed them to expel grime. They were a by-product of the oil industry and were considered harmless, until we discovered that they were entering the food chain and ending up in human bodies.
They are called " nurdles " and consist of tiny plastic pellets that wash away when we shower or rinse away toothpaste and eventually they find their way to the oceans. Examined under a microscope they appear transparent, similar to baby teeth and they are the raw material used in almost all plastic products. When they form part of any detergent their residue is washed away with water and so they begin their journey to the world's oceans.
The fact that they are so tiny caused us to think they were harmless, but at the bottom of the food chain are tiny microscopic creatures that see them as food and ingest them. In the course of the food cycle, these tiny creatures become a meal for something a bit larger, and that process continues until these nurdles find their way into fish and prawns which we - as the ultimate predators of the food chain - include in our diet.
Along the way, nurdles are indigestible when they enter the food chain of birds, turtles and a whole range of creatures that find them lowering their stomach capacity and causing them to starve. They are the reason many animal species have lower numbers to the point of becoming extinct. Fortunately, we humans have an extended life expectancy, but we are finding that these nurdles are being absorbed into the tissue of our bodies and may eventually have a detrimental effect to our health.
We thought we had the situation under control with the filtering process that processed the water discharged from sewage treatment plants trapping nurdles but they are continuing to appear in the water near our beaches. The government has ordered their elimination or reduction in cleansing products and a higher intensity screening in discharge procedures at water plants, but the long term effect on the human body is yet to be fully measured.
We have to find a harmless substitute to this oil industry by-product. Less effective soap and toothpaste is the price we have to pay to reduce extinction in the animal kingdom and guard against the long term effects of their absorption into the human body. Unfortunately, in the decades we have relied on oil to power industry, much of the damage has already been done !
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