"I'm sure it's down here, somewhere."
Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
New Ground Dwellers Found in Northern Australia
A large country with a low population has a lot to offer in regard to potential scientific discoveries. There are many places which individuals have not visited in a long, long time. Look around and there may be a few surprises.
Cape York and Cape Melville are virtual "lost worlds". New animals have been discovered by a team exploring the mountainous areas. New reptiles have been discovered that have to be given official names: a gold-colored skink and a leaf-tailed gecko. A new yellow, brown-spotted frog was also found. Frogs are amphibians, not reptiles, because they change from tadpoles into frogs.
Being mountainous and relatively inaccessible northern parts of Australia are pristine regions just waiting for visits from scientists. Though it gets very hot, mountain rainforest regions stay wet all year round, so rare species can survive for thousands of years. More intensive searches are planned for the near future.
Environment by Ty Buchanan
Capitalism Is Bad for Us
Research shows that capitalism is bad for us. Since the 1970s there has been an increase in mental illness of adults and children. Indications are that it is due to capitalism because the rise has been noted in English speaking capitalist countries and not in non-English speaking non-capitalist nations.
About 23 per cent of Americans, Britons, Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians suffered in the last 12 months, but only 11.5% of Germans, Italians, French, Belgians, Spaniards and Dutch. Could language itself be a factor? Selfish Capitalism has massively increased the wealth of the rich, robbing the average earner to give to the rich. But there is no "trickle-down effect" despite what politicians say.
Real wages have decreased in the US over the last three decades. Governments have reduced tax payments of the rich, placing responsibility for payment on low income earners. Nothing is being done to reduce "middle class welfare". Many people use the term middle class when they are really speaking about the wealthy upper class. There seems to be an odd taboo about saying the words "upper class".
About 23 per cent of Americans, Britons, Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians suffered in the last 12 months, but only 11.5% of Germans, Italians, French, Belgians, Spaniards and Dutch. Could language itself be a factor? Selfish Capitalism has massively increased the wealth of the rich, robbing the average earner to give to the rich. But there is no "trickle-down effect" despite what politicians say.
Real wages have decreased in the US over the last three decades. Governments have reduced tax payments of the rich, placing responsibility for payment on low income earners. Nothing is being done to reduce "middle class welfare". Many people use the term middle class when they are really speaking about the wealthy upper class. There seems to be an odd taboo about saying the words "upper class".
Economics by Ty Buchanan
Australian Retail Problems Not Caused by the Mineral Sector
There is clearly something wrong with the Australian economy. We seem to in the same position of Indonesia several decades ago when it had oil and the high price was pushing up the value of the currency. A high currency makes it difficult for those producing "non-boom" products to export. That is why the US is printing more dollars to weaken the currency, improve the economy and create more jobs. Nothing much is happening for it though because the US dollar is the major international currency as gold used to be.
Just why Australian shopkeepers are crying fowl is more difficult to understand. A strong currency means imports are cheaper. Australians are very import dependent in their spending habits and buying cheap imports is what they like to do. They buy such imports over more expensive Australian made products, but this shouldn't hurt the bottom line of retailers.
They claim Australians are spending less. Though figures show this to be the case, spending is not that easy to understand. If people save, the banks have more money to lend out to business and those who want to go into debt. However, due to the financial crisis Australian banks have tightened up on lending criteria. They will no longer lend to those with no offsetting assets. In other words, banks are withholding money. This money is not active within Australia. It may be invested overseas by banks.
The retail sector is wrong to blame exporters of minerals, the economy in general or interest rates. Obviously, the cause of reduced spending is the behavior of banks. Government could force the hand of banks. It will not do this as politicians fear a bank crisis occurring here in Australia. Some European countries were devastated by the global banking crisis. Their governments lost billions in propping up banks by giving them money that borrowers could not pay back. It was taxpayers money they were "giving" away.
HIV Reaching Record Levels in Australia
It seems Mankind hasn't moved far away from its ancient existence - living in a literal "bath" of disease. All other living things live in hostile environments, if not from predators then from a plethora of diseases.
Antibiotics are losing their efficacy. They no longer work. There are only a few that are effective against hospital acquired infections (HAI). Furthermore, it will be a shock to many that there is still no real treatment for fungal infections. Once you suffer from fungal problems you have to keep on applying various ointments.
Australia has reached a dangerous point in regard to HIV. Last year new HIV infections rose to their highest point in 20 years. Because younger people are experimenting with sex, this is the group contracting the disease at the highest level. Infections have been increasing since 1999. It is now at a rate of 24 per cent a year, from 10 per cent in 1999.
Despite attempts to destigmatize the way HIV is contracted, the reality is that 60 per cent of new infections are between consenting males. Perhaps there is a strong case for allowing marriage between same sex couples. This would reduce philandering to a significant degree. Otherwise, we could see some countries introducing a register of those with the disease and major penalties for intentionally infecting others.
Health by Ty Buchanan
No Improvement in Mental Health
After a great deal of research we still do not know what mental illness is and what causes it. There seems to be only general ways of categorizing individuals suffering mental problems. Each person's illness tends to be unique. Some people are on extremely high levels of medication. Indeed, many have to rotate medications because the drugs lose their effectiveness.
It is no wonder spending on the treatment of mental illness has not increased in the last twenty years. Reforms carried out have not improved matters at all. When sufferers attempt suicide they are kept in the mental health section of public hospitals, given medication and sent on their way a day or so later. There is usually a little talk with them, but they are thrown out to deal with life's problems, alone.
Nearly half of Australia will have mental problems at some time in their lives. This is a frightening statistic. Furthermore, there is discrimination. In OECD countries Australia is near the bottom for the number of people in the workforce who have mental issues.
It is difficult to treat something that is not understood. If your hip or knee fails you, an operation providing a new joint is an option. For mental illness there are many medications that only seem to help for a short time. The only form of treatment that has been there from the beginning is talking to the patient. This will continue of course.
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