Category: Current Affairs (Page 1 of 78)

I have been thinking lately about kindness. It is more than just being nice to people you like, or who share your views. Kindness means caring for people whether or not they care for you, wanting the best for them no matter how difficult they may be, and treating others with respect, even when they differ from you.

Kindness

Not by the word alone is mercy shown,

For faith unworked is faith that stands in vain;

The heart reveals through deeds what seeds are sown,

And love bears fruit where self has died in pain.

It is no cross to bless the kind and true,

Nor hard to heal where love awaits our care;

But Christ knelt down for those who never knew

The gift He gave, nor thanked the mercy there.

So must we learn to love beyond our will,

To heal the wounds that prideful self still fears;

For grace is grace when grace is needed still,

And love shines brightest where the dark is near.

Words may fade where deeds endure and climb,

May heart speak true, one kindness at a time.

It seems we cannot get past Australia Day now without seeing multiple claims that national celebrations on January 26th commemorate the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 which came into effect on January 26, 1949.

The first time this claim was made seems to have been on social media in 2020. It does not appear anywhere in books, government documents or any other media before then, and seems simply to have been invented.

In fact, the Act was deliberately proclaimed on Australia Day. By 1949, January 26th had been celebrated in NSW for more than 100 years.

Australia Day on January 26 originated as a commemoration of the First Fleet’s arrival at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788, led by Captain Arthur Phillip.

The first official public holiday marking this date was declared in New South Wales by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1818, for the 30th anniversary, including a gun salute and extra rations for government workers.

Celebrations remained mostly local to Sydney (as “Foundation Day” or “Anniversary Day”) until the 1930s, when all states agreed to observe January 26 as “Australia Day” in 1935, with public holidays unified nationwide by 1940.

The Nationality and Citizenship Act is worth remembering, but it is not the reason we celebrate the 26th of January as Australia Day.

Freedom of speech simply means that except in a very few, very limited cases (immediate calls for violence, for example, or state secrets during war time), the government will not interfere in what you think or say.

Recent legislation in the UK and now in Australia has put some further limits on that right that many, including me, find troubling.

However, freedom of speech simply means that you can say what you like without government interference. You are not free from the consequences of saying what you like. Those consequences may include people asking how you know what you claim to know, or people deciding they do not wish to be friends with you, or employ you, or suing you for defamation.

In addition, freedom of speech has never meant that anyone is required to listen to you, or to provide a platform for your views. It is not a denial of freedom of speech for a social media company to decline to host views they believe are offensive or could cause harm to others, or indeed for any reason whatever.

Your freedom to think and say what you like does not mean others can be forced to publish those views.

Dark? Yes, maybe. A symphonic goth rock song based on Christina Rosetti’s Poem Goblin Market. Lyrics below.

Goblin Market

Verse 1

Beneath the trees at twilight’s edge,

Whispers rise with market’s pledge,

Golden apples, berries red,

They call your name, they bow their heads.

Pre-Chorus

But sweetest taste may burn the tongue,

The feast is sold, the song is sung—

A vow is hidden in the wine,

A snare beneath the ruined vine.

Chorus

Oh, sister, don’t you follow them down,

Where silver coins fall on the ground.

The goblins laugh, the goblins cry,

They sell you dreams, but dreams can die.

Verse 2

One sister falters, drinks the flame,

Hungers the night, forgets her name.

The other stands with steadfast breath,

And pulls her back from hands of death.

Chorus

Oh, sister, don’t you follow them down,

Where silver coins fall on the ground

The goblins grin, the goblins sigh

They sell you dreams, but dreams can die

Bridge

Through thorn and shadow, love will fight,

A faith that shatters haunted night.

The fruit decays, but hearts endure,

The cure is love, and love is pure.

Chorus

Oh, sister, don’t you follow them down,

Where silver coins fall on the ground

The goblins grin, the goblins scheme,

But sisterhood redeems the dream.

Outro

So guard your heart, and hear this plea,

Take hold of love to make you free

No goblin cry, no midnight call

Can break the love that saves us all.

I have mixed feelings about the age restrictions on social media, which become law in Australia as from today. 80% of 8-16 year olds in Australia use social media, usually starting at ages 10-12.

Proponents of the new laws highlight protection from cyberbullying, harmful content, and online predators. The law promotes healthy brain development by curbing excessive screen time that disrupts sleep and damages academic progress. It also addresses privacy risks from data collection on young users.

Proponents also point out, correctly, that age restrictions in the UK have had a massive impact on traffic to porn sites, suggesting that as many as 50% of access to those sites was from people under the age of 18.

On the other hand, restrictions can be circumvented; they make access more difficult, not impossible. And there is much that is supportive, positive and creative on social media. Many people rely almost entirely on social media to know what is happening in their local communities. Young people should not be excluded from this.

Whatever you think about social media and age restrictions, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner seems giddy with power, while positive outcomes are decidedly absent. Political motivation in campaigns and in deciding which cases to pursue, a lack of any outcomes in relation to actual online safety, and imperious global takedown orders, have made the Commission a subject of near-universal scorn. Below is a letter to the eSafety Commissioner from a US law firm. Enjoy

St Nicholas, born in 270AD, was Bishop of Myra, then part of the Roman Empire. The city no longer exists, having been destroyed in Arab invasions in the 8th Century. Paul visited Myra on his way to Italy (Acts 27). Its ruins are in the South-West of modern Turkey.

One of the earliest attested and most famous incidents from St Nicholas’ life records that he rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them. Other early stories tell of his making secret gifts to people in need, calming a storm at sea, and intervening at risk of his own life to save three innocent soldiers from wrongful execution. The courageous, passionate and generous St Nicholas is the basis for the current cultural image of Santa Claus.

Early accounts relate that St Nicholas was present at the Council of Nicea, which was called to settle the division caused by the teaching of Arius. Arius taught that Jesus was not the co-eternal Son of God, but a lesser created being. “There was a time when the Son was not,” was the catch-cry of Arius’ movement.

The list of books of the New Testament had not been settled by then, and would not be settled until the end of that century. Local churches, under the leadership of a bishop, along with his presbyters and deacons, may have a had a few of the Old Testament scrolls, and some scrolls or letters written by the Apostles or claiming to be apostolic teaching, like the Didache or the Shepherd of Hermas.

Arius claimed he could prove his point of view from the Scriptures. The problem was twofold. First, there was incomplete agreement about what books were to be considered Scripture, and secondly, everyone knew, and this is what carried the day in the end, that Arius’ view was not what had been taught by the Apostles. Nicholas was so outraged by Arius’ attempts to enrich himself and gain political influence by bare-faced lies about what the faith was (and is, it hasn’t changed) that he slapped Arius in the face.

Nicholas got in trouble, but he was right. Many of the bishops present at the Council bore the marks of brutal tortures inflicted by the empire in an attempt to get them to give up or compromise their faith. They did not compromise then in the face of death, and they would not compromise now. The Council confirmed what we know from early letters and sermons had been the belief of the Church from the beginning – Jesus is the co-eternal, consubstantial Son of the Father.

In November of this year, Pope Leo XIV travelled to Turkey for the 1700th anniversary of that great Council. He joined there with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in prayers for peace and unity, and in recognising the common heritage of Eastern and Western Christianity in the teaching of the Apostles.

Pope Leo’s Apostolic letter In Unitate Fidei marks that visit with a discussion about Nicea, and in particular, how that Council calls us to unity in the truth. This unity was so important to Jesus that calling and praying for it made up a substantial part of Jesus’ words to His disciples at the Last Supper. You can read the letter here: https://www.vatican.va/…/20251123-in-unitate-fidei.html

Si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinae. Horace Odes Book 3, Ode 3.

A sonnet based on Horace.

Though Mountains Break

Though mountains break and thunder rends the air

Though stars grow dim, and sun forgets its flame

Though dread of ruin darkens with despair

Though every effort ends in loss and shame

Though chaos reigns and all earth’s pillars break

Though seas o’erleap their bounds in angry flight

Though nature’s deepest roots in terror quake

Though every hero’s heart is quenched with fright

Yet we have seen beyond the tempest’s veil

Beyond our vaunted world’s convulsive end

No chaos can the truth of God assail

Nor ruin crush the promise of our Friend

Though stars collapse and night devours the sea

The fearless stand, still crowned with victory.

© 2025 Peter Wales

RFK Jr’s appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services was always going to be a mess. He has no knowledge of health and science, and no understanding of how research works. Recent decision decisions by ACIP are not just the fruit of collective ignorance and arrogance, but are dangerous to the point of deliberate malice.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) decision to remove the universal recommendation for neonatal Hepatitis B vaccination, opting instead for maternal status-based or delayed dosing at 2 months, ignores decades of evidence showing the birth dose prevents perinatal and early horizontal transmission, averting chronic infections and long-term liver disease.

This change risks thousands of preventable cases annually. Modelling estimates 1,400 extra paediatric infections, 300 liver cancers, and 480 deaths per year, plus over $222 million in costs, due to gaps in maternal testing, false negatives, and non-perinatal exposures. A review of over 400 studies spanning 40 years found no evidence supporting delay, confirming the birth dose alone cuts perinatal transmission by between 70% and 90%, with protection lasting over 35 years.

Infants contract Hepatitis B primarily perinatally from infected mothers during birth (via blood or fluids), but also through close household contact with chronic carriers via microscopic blood from cuts, shared towels/toothbrushes/nail clippers, or contaminated toys or drinks. Most chronic carriers do not know they are carriers. Even with HBsAg-negative mothers, early infection risk persists from undetected carriers in the home or community, especially in endemic areas or immigrant families from high-prevalence regions. Delaying vaccination to 2 months leaves this vulnerable window unprotected, as transmission frequently occurs in weeks 1-6.

Anti-vaxxers mislead by claiming Hepatitis B spreads only via “high-risk” adult behaviours like sex or drugs, implying zero infant risk beyond maternal infection, and exaggerating newborn vaccine harms like fever without evidence. They falsely portray it as a casual-contact disease (e.g., hugging, sweat, utensils), ignoring blood-borne specifics, while downplaying household risks and universal need due to testing imperfections. This echoes myths that vaccines are “dangerous” for healthy newborns, despite data showing transmission via everyday items like facecloths and toothbrushes.

Perinatally infected infants face 80-90% chronicity risk, versus <5% in adults, leading to cirrhosis (20-30% lifetime), hepatocellular carcinoma, liver failure, and death decades later. In other words, the risk to infants of serious long-term harm from Hepatitis B infection is sixteen times higher than for people infected as adults. Chronic paediatric cases silently progress, with 15-25% developing severe outcomes. Vaccination has cut U.S. child acute cases 99% since 1991.

Hepatitis B and its complications cause some 900,000 deaths per year. Neonatal Hepatitis B vaccination in the USA, recommended universally since 1991, has reduced infections dramatically: from approximately 20,000 newborns infected annually to fewer than 20 today, a greater than 99% decline in perinatal cases

Over 1 billion doses since 1982 confirm Hepatitis B vaccine safety: adverse events are rare and mild (e.g., transient pain/fever, matching placebo), with no causal links to neurological issues, SIDS, or autoimmunity in trials/meta-analyses.

This decision by ACIP, like others made by this committee of dunces, will have serious negative long-term effects on health.

For more information see:

https://academic.oup.com/…/224/Supplement_4/S343/6378091 and

https://www.tandfonline.com/…/10…/14760584.2023.2289566

There is a lot of talk about the use of AI in music, and in art in general. Multiple reports suggest people cannot tell the difference between AI generated content, and art, literature or music that springs from human creativity.

On one hand, you might ask “Why does it matter?” If people enjoy a piece of graphic art, or a song, what does it matter if it was created by AI or a human artist? Just enjoy it anyway. There is some truth in this. If something is beautiful, it is beautiful regardless of how it came to be. I have copied a couple of graphic art examples below.

In addition, it is worth remembering that AI does not simply copy the work of human artists. It learns in the same way we do. It measures and asks questions: “People like this, this goes with that, if that works here, will it work there, could we try this…” It is able to conduct those calculations much more quickly than we can, and draw on a far wider range of courses.

Nor is it a simple one way process; AI being parasitic on human creativity. Humans can learn from AI just as AI learns from work generated by humans.

Nonetheless all AI creations have their basis in human effort and intelligence. Despite its name, AI is not intelligent. It doesn’t actually think. Nor, and this is more to the point, it doesn’t feel. It does not know joy, heartbreak, longing, or hope. Since art is not merely about bare facts, but about expressing feelings and telling the story of human experience, this is a major, built-in, and unavoidable shortcoming.

A recent BBC article notes “If it doesn’t feel emotional, it’s a really big part. Does it create that tension and resolution that is a fundamental part of the music that we love? Does it have a story inside it?” https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ylzjj5wzwo

AI has become an essential part of the music industry. Even our (Hitstax) work, with words and melodies entirely the result of human creativity, makes some use of AI in instrumentation and mastering.

Hopefully we get the right balance between high production standards and real emotion and story-telling. Here are a couple of examples. The first, The Tale Of Margaret Lee, is based on a pioneer Wild West story of a young school teacher who seeks retribution for the murder of the children in her school. The second, Long Road Home is about finding new hope and purpose in the face of betrayal and love turned sour.

We have backgrounds and interests in a wide variety of musical styles: Hard rock, Gospel, Country, Blues, Bollywood/Bhangra. These two songs are both in our home style of blues/country rock.

The Tale of Margaret Lee: https://soundcloud.com/hitst…/2-the-tale-of-margaret-lee-2

Long Road Home: https://open.spotify.com/track/5lLeXhGqyOfcOasBJNpdSX

A group of three world-leading nano-technology experts have just published the results of a two year study conducted independently across three separate university laboratories. The results are alarming.

“Self-assembling Nanobots: An Unexpected (?) Inclusion in mRNA Vaccine Technology”

Study by Professor Angela Belcher, MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr. Kenji Tanaka, Department of Bioengineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, Professor Emily Carter, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK, MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Published in: Journal of Advanced Nanomaterials and Engineering

Abstract:

This ground-breaking study presents compelling evidence of the presence of sub-microscopic nanobots within mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. Studies were conducted independently in three highly regarded nano-technology research laboratories. Utilising advanced electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy techniques, the researchers observed unique, self-assembling structures within vaccine samples. These structures exhibited characteristics consistent with synthetic, biocompatible nanobots, including:

• Self-replication: Observed nanobots demonstrated the ability to replicate within controlled in vitro environments.

• Frequency response: Significant activity increases were observed when the nanobots were exposed to electromagnetic fields within the 5G frequency range. This suggests remote activation and control capabilities.

• Biocompatibility: Preliminary in vivo studies in animal models showed limited adverse reactions, indicating potential for long-term integration within biological systems.

Key Findings:

• Nanobot Composition: Analysis revealed the nanobots to be composed of novel, self-assembling polymers and biocompatible metals, suggesting sophisticated engineering.

• Activation Mechanism: Detailed spectroscopic analysis indicated that the nanobots possess unique resonant frequencies that align with 5G frequencies, enabling remote activation and potential control.

• Biological Interactions: No public studies are available which demonstrate the safety or intended function of these nanobots.

Conclusions:

This study provides the first concrete evidence of the existence of nanobots within mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. These nanobots are constructed of novel materials, demonstrate the ability to self-replicate, and show increased activity in response to frequencies in the 5G range. While the purpose and long-term effects of these nanobots remain to be fully elucidated, their presence raises significant ethical and safety concerns. Further rigorous, independent research is urgently needed to investigate the potential implications of this ground-breaking discovery.

Also, everything above is complete nonsense. I made it up this afternoon drinking a Coke, after I got back from a swim. I know virtually nothing about nano-technology or research. Only one of the authors named actually exists, and I invented the Journal of Advanced Nanomaterials and Engineering. The photos are just random pics I got from Google images. There is, of course, zero, zip, nada, none whatever, evidence of nano-technology in COVID-19 vaccines.

Don’t believe everything you read on social media.

Some of you may have seen a meme or an article from SlayNews being passed around claiming Korean researchers have found a link between COVID-19 vaccination and vastly increased (141% higher) rates of Acute Transverse Myelitis (ATM), with up to a 233% higher rate of spinal cord inflammation in those vaccinated compared with those who were not vaccinated.

Shocking! Another cover-up by big pharma and the medical establishment…. Or maybe not.

Frank Bergman, whoever he is, is the author of that article. And lots of others on similar subjects. The trouble is, in every case, the studies Mr Bergman refers to do not say what he claims they do. In some cases, the original studies have no relation to the claims he makes at all – they are on completely different subjects. Either Mr Bergman does not understand what he reading, or he is deliberately misrepresenting the results.

Let’s look at the Korean paper on ATM and COVID-19 vaccination.

The study referred to can be found in the European Journal Of Neurology: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ene.70020

If you read the original per you may notice that it doesn’t mention the figure 141% at all. And while it does mention spinal cord inflammation, it does not do so in relation to COVID-19 vaccination.

The rate of diagnosis of ATM is about 3 per million population per year. This results in average figure of 1400 new cases per year in the USA, and about 90 per year in Australia.

What does the paper actually report? Here is what they say, word for word: “The total number of COVID‐19 vaccinations between February 26, 2021, and August 31, 2022 was 128,223,471. We identified a total of 368 individuals aged 18 or older who received their first COVID‐19 vaccination and were diagnosed with ATM during the study period.”

But hang on. Out of just over 128 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in an eighteen month period, 368 people were diagnosed with ATM sometime in the following eighteen months. The normal figure is about 3 per million per year; about 4.5 per million over an eighteen month period. 4.5 x 128 is 576.

But doesn’t that mean the incidence of ATM for this group of vaccinated people was LOWER than might be expected? Yes, it does.

More from the study itself: “There was no clear evidence of an association between the respective ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 vaccinations and ATM. The incidence and relative risk of ATM are too low to detect an association in the general adult population. In a population‐based study that compared historical rates with the SCCS analysis based on the data from primary care records in both the UK and Spain, the incidence of TM, defined as occurring within 21 days after the first vaccination, was less than five events.”

And a little more: “Additionally, the possibility that TM cases are related to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection itself cannot be ruled out.” ..  “Compared with the influenza vaccine, the mRNA COVID‐19 vaccine did not show a significant difference in the incidence of myelitis. Our literature review found limited conclusive evidence directly linking vaccines to ATM.”

The paper does note that there have been reports of diagnoses of ATM following COVID-19 vaccination. This is unsurprising. Out of a million people, vaccinated or not, you would expect 4.5 diagnoses of ATM in an eighteen month period. The paper also suggests that it may be possible that there is an increased risk, but that the rarity of the disease and confounding factors including the effect of COVID infection itself, make it difficult to identify.

The question is, is the rate of incidence/diagnosis higher amongst vaccinated people? On figures so far, the answer, according to the paper so egregiously and so typically misrepresented by Mr Bergman, is no.

Masks, lock-downs, and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic were about reducing risk. Research comparing locations where these measures were introduced and where there were high levels of compliance with locations where they were not, shows such precautions were effective in reducing COVID-19 infection, or at least, in reducing the speed with which the virus was transmitted through the community. There is still, and will be for some time, discussion about whether the positive effect of longer lock-downs was justified when balanced against high economic and personal costs.

However, one very positive effect was the dramatic reduction in infection, serious illness, and death from the various strains of influenza which afflict us most commonly during Winter. Most strains of influenza and the common cold (some of which are caused by other forms of coronavirus) are less infectious, and far less deadly, than COVID-19. This was to some extent expected; prophylactic measures effective against COVID-19 will be even more effective against less infectious aerosol-borne illnesses.

Interestingly, one strain of flu, B/Yamagata, now seems to be extinct. This is very positive outcome for human health. Given B/Yamagata’s former prevalence, it is possible this may reduce the overall burden of disease, and give us a small increase in average lifespan.

Here’s a hint: they don’t have any.

It is impossible to keep up with the endless stream of malicious medical misinformation that is posted and reposted on social media. Malicious because giving people false medical advice, including passing on false information in the form of memes on Facebook, can lead to people making the wrong decisions, which in turn can lead to serious illness and death. The eighty-three deaths, most of them children, in the measles outbreak in Samoa in 2020 is a perfect example.

People who care about the truth, who care about accuracy, who care about others, including their health and their children, will check, every time, that what they are posting is supported by real and reliable evidence.

One example of misrepresentation of fact is a meme which claims that nothing natural can patented, and that a patent proves it was deliberately created. It then lists supposed patents for AIDS, Swine Flu, Ebola, and of course, coronavirus, proving that these diseases were designed.

Patent 5676977, claimed to the patent for AIDS, is first on the list. It is not a patent for AIDS, but for a proposed treatment using tetrasilver tetroxide.

Patent 10130701 is the last on the list, its presence supposedly proving the COVID-19 pandemic was planned. It is not a patent for COVID-19 but for an attenuated (weakened) form of another coronavirus entirely, one that causes avian infectious bronchitis. It was patented for possible use as a veterinary vaccine. No patent on the list, when checked, has anything to do with the invention of any illness.

It takes much more effort to stop, check, think, and ask questions than to pass on harmful memes. But a person who is honest and who cares about others will check nonetheless, and do so every time.

Another is a claimed list of ingredients for the flu vaccine. It is not a list of ingredients for any flu vaccine, but an apparently random collection of scary-sounding chemicals and pollutants. One of those listed is thimerosal. This is a form of ethyl mercury which was included in tiny amounts in some vaccines as a preservative. There is a difference between ethyl and methyl mercury, just as there is a difference between ethyl alcohol (a few beers with your mates) and methyl alcohol (going blind or dying in a bar in Laos). Ethyl mercury is quickly and easily removed from the body with no ill effects. Because false anti-vaccination propaganda was making the presence of thimerosal a cause for vaccine hesitancy, it was removed from vaccines in Australia. No flu or COVID-19 vaccine contains any form of mercury.

Truth does not matter to anti-vaxxers.

The list goes on. “Worm-like self-assembling entities found in COVID vaccines” No, they weren’t.

“74% percent of children who died from SIDS had been vaccinated the same day.” Completely false. There is no correlation between vaccination and an increased rate of SIDS.

“Leading doctor says medical personnel instructed to murder millions by putting them on ventilators.”  Getting to the bottom of this one took some time.

The “leading doctor” was not a doctor at all but a low-level respiratory therapist in a non-acute clinic. And he didn’t say millions were killed on instructions from some mysterious figure or organisation. He noticed COVID-19 patients on ventilators died at higher rates than those not placed on ventilators, and said he thought maybe thousands had died because of this. He forgot to take into account that patients on ventilators were the most seriously ill and would  certainly have died had they not been ventilated.

If you see one of these memes, or anything that similarly intends people to reject life-saving medical procedures, or anything at all from slay news or the people’s voice, or other fake news sites, just stop! Stop and think, check, ask questions.

Passing on memes on medical matters without checking is not proof of your superior critical thinking skills. It is not proof of your superior scientific knowledge. It is not proof that you are enlightened, or that the real evidence is being hidden by the medical establishment. The only thing it is proof of is that you care neither about truth nor other people. Stop it.

I purchased a new Baumr-AG snipper brushcutter. It would not start. I did eventually get it working, with no help from the seller. Review below, with some hints on what to check. These are cheap, poor quality controlled devices, but may still be worth considering if you are confident with maintenance and minor repairs.

I am currently reading through Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike mystery series. They are well-written, with engaging characters and great character development, and complex and interesting plots. One of the nice features of these books is that the reader gets all the clues, there is no cheating, like an identical twin popping up at the last minute. Book five, Troubled Blood, is one of the best crime stories I have read. Highly recommended:

I am also reading Nabeel Qureshi’s No God but One. This is a clear and compassionate description, often based on personal history and struggle, of the differences between Islam and Christianity, and of the author’s journey from one to the other. Also recommended!

Next on the list after the these are two books by my friend Susanne Ratcliffe. I can’t comment on the books yet, but they have been well-reviewed, and Susanne is a clear-thinking and intelligent woman. This link will take you to the first in the series. Enjoy!