As reported by The Australian, the final Newspoll for the year records Labor’s two-party lead unchanged at 53-47, from primary votes of Coalition 36%, Labor 38% (steady), Greens 10% (down one) and One Nation 3% (up one). Scott Morrison’s personal ratings are unchanged at 44% approval and 52% disapproval, while Anthony Albanese are respectively up two to 39% and down three to 45%. The report says Morrison is down one on preferred prime minister to 45% and Albanese is down two to 36%. The poll also finds 47% expect Labor to win the election compared with 37% for the Coalition. It was conducted Wednesday to Saturday from a sample of 1518.
lizzie
“It took a while for researchers to prove that dinosaurs had feathers or similar – but have they found fur yet?”
Certain dinosaurs have been found with hair-like or down-like body covering. There is strong evidence that these structures are ancestral to true feathers, and so are often called ‘proto-feathers’. They were probably used for insulation, so tend to be found in smaller dinosaurs.
As a general rule, larger dinosaurs tend to have scaly skin. Some dinosaurs have both scales and proto-feathers. Skin doesn’t usually fossilise (except under exceptional circumstances, where decay is slowed down). So for the vast majority of dinosaurs we don’t have direct evidence of what they were covered in.
Some close relatives of birds had true feathers, and were likely capable of true flight. If you’re ever bored, check out a creature called Microraptor.
I don’t really get the argument that joints are safer than bongs.
Sure, bongs can be stronger. But the people I know who have fried their brains with the stuff did so with joints, not bongs. The problem seemed to be persistent daily use leading to what appeared to be a pretty serious addiction (perhaps only a psychological addiction rather than a physical one, but seemingly just as strong).
I accept my information is anecdotal.
Ah, video game addiction. Love it! Just bought a Nintendo Wii again last weekend at a garage sale and today bought 25 Wii games on facebook Marketplace. That’s my summer sorted.
Well, my son bought them for me for Xmas. 🙂
C@t:
Oh, I basically agree. Prohibition has never worked. Human beings like to get fucked up.
As for my views on cannabis, I’m on the same page as a few others here. I am for decriminalisation, even legalisation, with the caveat that it’s regulated i.e. only available from licenced dealers, can only be sold to people 18+ years old, can only be consumed in private residences or in designated venues etc. as well as laws (which mostly already exist) preventing reckless behaviour under the influence such as driving or just being a public nuisance.
Like already stated on here, I also don’t like when it’s claimed to be some sort of magical panacea that cures all that ails you or a wonder that has no negative health effects and is healthier than an apple or anything like that. For some it can also trigger problems and one can become too dependent on it. But I can think of something else perfectly legal that has issues too, I type while enjoying a cold one on this Friday evening.
Not to be a follower but I think the worldwide trend (at least in the west) is towards legalisation and, with the aforementioned proper regulations, I have no real objections to following suit.
lizzie at 8:12 pm
Maybe not furry but definitely fluffy …not so much cute and fluffy tho’ 😆 .
Re the ‘softie’ , you would have to have a heart of stone not to give the the ‘boids’ their ‘shower’ after seeing the ecstasy they seem to be in getting a shower, especially on a hot day.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28407381
Asha @ #2754 Friday, December 10th, 2021 – 8:26 pm
As the apocryphal story goes. Magic Mushrooms + 12 Apostles = Old Testament 🙂
Kakuru
Thank you.
The first feathers were more furry like than quill like.
It’s likely feathers, like fur in mammals, as well as things like claws and non-bone horns were originally just deformities from the body shedding excess keratin. Over time, evolution and selection pressure made it into what it is today.
Any time Lizzie. I find this a fascinating topic. 🙂
Wat:
Yup. That particular drug has probably had more devastating effects on people’s lives than most of the rest put together, not least because of how normalised it is.
But we all know how well it went when they tried to ban that one.
There’s a book I highly recommend called ‘Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs’ by Steve Brusatte. It’s a nice easy read (or listen, if you prefer audio) and is a love letter to the field of palaeontology as well as a history of dinosaurs. It’s for a general readership, so you won’t get bogged down with jargon and technical stuff, but it still explains some of the specific biological stuff related to the evolution of dinosaurs.
Boerwar
Fair enough.
As regarding entropy, it’s becoming an increasingly open question as to whether life is really subject to the full force of the second law of thermodynamics – at least in an open system, where energy can continue to be collected and used for life to sustain itself and reproduce. In fact, life may actually be a driver of entropy through the consumption of energy, rather than the subject of entropic forces – particuarly at the species level, as opposed to the individual, who most definitely experiences entropic decay over a single lifetime.
My view is that if we can successfully leave planet Earth, and then the solar system, we will have, as a species, cheated our entropic fate to the order of tens to hundreds of billions of years (whenever heat death of the universe occurs).
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-thermodynamics-theory-of-the-origin-of-life-20140122/
”
C@tmommasays:
Friday, December 10, 2021 at 5:30 pm
I guess The Greens can’t complain about The Nationals then.
”
I might missed if they did but as far as I can remember they never did and with a slight of hand they even Preferenced Nationals in another name as recent as just concluded NSW Local government election. 🙂
And nath yesterday urged them to preference so called “moderate Libs” over Labor.
Player One @ #2748 Friday, December 10th, 2021 – 8:22 pm
Just reread my own post, and it sounds a bit too abrupt. Perhaps I should have said something like “when you are facing death by firing squad, how you are going to make your next mortgage payment is definitely a second order issue”.
Wat Tyler
Yes, a really good book!
I have nothing of worth to add to the topic, but can I just say that I’m thoroughly enjoying the discussion on dinosaurs and evolution.
It’s interesting observing baby chicks (I hatch them in an incubator).
There are obvious advantages to feathers/down, even at the stage when they are only for insulation – chicks can leap quite high and they (fortunately) can fall from heights without mishap.
Zoomster
Like baby wood ducks which leap from their nest branch and “float” to the ground.
”
Bushfire Billsays:
Friday, December 10, 2021 at 5:31 pm
Firefox assumes full “Jeanne d’Arc” height and declares:
Am I ok? No I’m fucking not ok. What is going on here is not ok. What has happened is not ok. What you are all turning a blind eye to is not ok. Let’s just be crystal clear about that.
I mean fuck, I get told to stop being condescending after I’m treated in the most condescending manner imaginable by certain individuals.
So no, I’m not the one who needs to look in the mirror.
What you need to realize, FF, is that there are more issues than just Climate Change. I know it’s hard, but that’s the truth.
Some people don’t care about it at all. At the opposite end of the spectrum, some care about it to the exclusion of everything else.
In the middle there are plenty of people who care about Climate Change, but care about other things too. Some are sick and therefore worry, perhaps more, about Health policy. Some are unemployed and want a job. There are those who desire an education and are interested in TAFE and University planning. Others have money and want to know how best to invest it. Others want to buy a home.
It’s possible to be in politics, or just interested in politics in Australia and care about things other than what interests single-issue parties (hint: the name “The Greens” is both a dead giveaway as to what The Greens care about, and an explanation for why they only get 10% of the vote… that and their constant preaching and hectoring).
………
”
That is one philosophical thought process. Bravo. Thanks
Sohar @ #2724 Friday, December 10th, 2021 – 8:02 pm
At the 2019 election UAP got 3.4 % of the National Primary vote –
National 3.4%
TASMANIA 4.8
SOUTH AUSTRALIA 4.2
VICTORIA 3.6
QUEENSLAND 3.5
NSW 3.3
NT 2.8
ACT 2.6
WA 2.0
UAP did better than the National average in some Labor held seats like Macquarie (4.0 ) Dobell (5.3), Hunter (4.2), Shortland (4.5) and Lyons (6.1), none of them in Victoria.
UAP getting 8 percent of the PV across Victoria would be surprising. Leave it to us two headed red necks in Tasmania and disenchanted happy clappers in SA who believe corona virus is “of the devil” to swallow Palmer’s populism pill. Victorians, we hope, are not that stupid.
Henry
I believe Thommo may have been busted booking ladies of the night on his union credit card.
Actually the magistrate agreed that Thomson did not use of prostitutes, despite The Australian publishing such immediately Pia Akerman left the court after the prosecutor read stuff into the record over the magistrates protests. The credit card had his name spelt Thompson and his NSW drivers license was used as proof if ID, except NSW drivers licenses are for a max of 5 years and Vic drivers licenses are issued for 10 years .
Not sure of the exact details but the HSU paid their officials a stipend
Stipends are low pay, around $24,000 and tax free
The union officials also had a credit card for unlimited spending
Generally union officials took their spouses on interstate trip once a year
This was used and abused by Kathy Jackson
Craig Thomson had secured better pay and conditions for NSW ambos and was sent to Melbourne to clean up HSU in Vic. Kathy Jackson was threatened by the new broom and got rid of him the same way she divorced her husband ie she said he visited prostitutes and here are the credit card payments
Lars asks:
Good question. Yeah, it is, sort-of “Some form of nihilist nothing”.
We hear a lot about what we “must” do to “save the planet”, but what that really means is what we “must” do to “save the sorry arses of homo sapiens”, with the assumption being that we, or our close descendants, will constitute part of the “saved”.
I’ve yet to hear much, if any argument as to WHY we should be bothered saving ourselves as a species, seeing the damage we’ve already done and are likely to do again.
No-one’s ever pointed out to me WHY a snapshot of Life On Earth, circa 1850 (pre Industrial Age) to 2021 (Late Self-Extinction Age) – including civilization, species mix and climate – is in any way more worth preserving than say Snowball Earth, or the Cambrian Explosion era.
If you’re going to argue we MUST do something to combat Climate Change by 2050, tell us WHY exactly we should do so. What’s so worth preserving about US and the world we have made?
I’m not coming at this because I deny the Science. I accept the Science. But can someone tell me what’s the next logical step?
And please, no references to leaving a Good Earth to our descendants. Beyond three, at most four generations, very few if any living persons will ever meet their succeeding generations, or have met their preceding generations. Effectively, they are on their own, as are we.
Wat Tyler
Same here Bigly Cheers ! First beer in a long time. Celebrating getting 2 thumbs up today from GP after a stack of tests this week. A bit nervous as a year ago this week seeing my GP sent me on a ‘journey’ that ended with a Texas Chainsaw Massacre on my heart 😆 Davai !
Now we have the inane trope that only Bob and Christine were the real Greens and they disavow the party or some such BS
The tropes really are so tiresome they don’t even rate as comedic
Christine Milne AO is of course an international Greens ambassador who remains very active and promoting Greens party activity and actions for the planet right around the world
Bob of course turns up for events and candidates when he can
Christine Milne AO Retweeted
Tim Hollo
@timhollo
Coal is on the way out, faster than either major party wants to believe, and whether they like it or not.
The only two questions are: how fast will it happen, and how fair will the transition be?
1/4
theguardian.com
Australia’s coal-fired power plants likely to shut almost three times faster than expected, report…
Latest blueprint by Aemo says grid has already ‘outpaced all expectations’ and anticipates ninefold increase in wind and solar by 2050
It’s shocking to me that, instead of being honest with workers about transition out of coal, our major parties are still claiming that this ecocidal industry has a future and trying to reassure workers that they shouldn’t worry. That’s just cruel and wrong.
2/4
The Greens have a proud, long history of advocating for “Just Transitions” – fully funded programs to support workers and communities through the shift into whatever they choose to do next, individually and collectively.
3/4
We’ve got a brilliant policy for a Just Transitions Authority, to coordinate & fund communities as they make their own plans for the future.
That’s what we need, fast. Because the closure of coal AEMO sets out here is still not fast enough to avoid climate catastrophe.
4/4
Christine Milne AO Retweeted
Green Party Ireland
@greenparty_ie
Earth globe europe-africa Environmental degradation, including climate change, pollution and nature loss, disproportionately impacts people in vulnerable situations.
On #HumanRightsDay2021, we need to continue to push for a green recovery from COVID-19 and a #JustTransition.
poroti @ #2774 Friday, December 10th, 2021 – 8:23 pm
I am glad to hear you’re ok. I hope that’s the worst of the scares over and you have many years of decent health left. Cheers. *raises drink*
Humans will be far from the only casualties if climate change is allowed to continue at its present rate. In fact, we will probably get off relatively easy.
When people say we are in the midst of a global extinction event, they arn’t talking about us.
Everyone alive today has ancestors going back to … well, 1,000 years, 10,000 years, 1,000,000 years, the age of dinosaurs and before. Few will see past the third generation after themselves, but many imagine a legacy extending just as far into the future. Even today’s plutocrats, expecting that their line will survive to plunder whatever new world emerges when the coal mines have been exhausted…
Bushfire Bill says:
Friday, December 10, 2021 at 8:52 pm
……
No-one’s ever pointed out to me WHY a snapshot of Life On Earth, circa 1850 (pre Industrial Age) to 2021 (Late Self-Extinction Age) – including civilization, species mix and climate – is in any way more worth preserving than say Snowball Earth, or the Cambrian Explosion era.
….
Given the last 30,000 years has been very unusual climate wise it’s a very interesting question.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_periods_and_events_in_climate_history#/media/File:Vostok_Petit_data.svg
And as the last 30,000 years has ushered in a major extension event it has hardly been a glorious period.
Bushfire Bill
Perhaps because in saving ourselves we will save the Earth for all the plants, animals, and other life we share this planet with – all of whom are innocent bystanders to our destruction of the climate – so they can continue in their existence, free of the threat of Anthropocene extinction?
I oppose the legalization of Cannibalism, unless the person has consented before death to be eaten and stated who is allow to eat them….. That was the topic wasn’t it? Or did I read something wrong?
B.S. Fairman:
I think the German courts would disagree with you on that one!
zoomster
“There are obvious advantages to feathers/down, even at the stage when they are only for insulation – chicks can leap quite high and they (fortunately) can fall from heights without mishap.”
Interesting. The latest research suggests that the ancestors of birds did not live in trees, but spent all their time on the ground. Wings appear to have evolved before flight. One hypothesis is that these wings were used to help small two-legged dinosaurs leap from the ground into the air – and in the course of evolution the wings began to be used for flapping for powered flight.
Asha
Except the German prosecutors had to resort to international law around torture to adequately frame and prosecute the crime, as German law at the time did not quite cover that particular scenario.
https://edition.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/13/findlaw.analysis.leavitt.cannibalism/
JimmyD says:
Friday, December 10, 2021 at 9:11 pm
..
Perhaps because in saving ourselves we will save the Earth for all the plants, animals, and other life we share this planet with – all of whom are innocent bystanders to our destruction of the climate – so they can continue in their existence, free of the threat of Anthropocene extinction?
There has been extension events before.
Dealing with climate change can be looked upon as our ultimate takeover of the planet.
We know how to extend the inter glacier period and we are going to do it.
Wat Tyler
The whole experience has been a first class reminder of how great Medicare, our health system and the people in it are. Not perfect, nothing is, but damned good . If I was in the US I’d have been looking at a bill pushing $500k after surgery and the ICU stay. Not to mention the continued cost of medication. Without insurance a death sentence there. Here ? Medicare meant a bill of $0 for the surgery and hospital stay.
Yeah? So what? Given that 99.99% of all species that have ever existed and 99.9999999999999999999% (as reasonable a guesstimate as any) of all individuals that have ever existed are respectively either extinct, or dead? Remember: those extinct species gave way to what we have today, that which you think is so worth preserving. What’s so special?
What exactly do we owe other species? And why are they so important to preserve exactly as they are now, when all the others are dead, gone and not particularly missed, except for curiosity value?
I’m asking about fundamentals, absolutes, not just homo sapiens guilt trips.
The planet will be fine.
Human beings are in trouble.
Oh you greenies and lefties all want to prevent a human created climate change mass extinction event but were fine with the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction Event. Hypocrisy much?
EB,
None in Victoria???
UAP polled 3.4% or more in 21 seats in Victoria at the 2019 election.
Division, Winning Party, Percent
ASTON (LIB) 3.61
BALLARAT (ALP) 4.62
BENDIGO (ALP) 4.25
BRUCE (ALP) 4.28
CALWELL (ALP) 3.47
CORIO (ALP) 5.48
FRASER (ALP) 7.9
GELLIBRAND (ALP) 5.47
GIPPSLAND (NAT) 4.4
GORTON (ALP) 7.9
HOLT (ALP) 6.29
HOTHAM (ALP) 3.63
INDI (IND) 3.94
ISAACS (ALP) 3.94
JAGAJAGA (ALP) 3.74
LALOR (ALP) 4.76
MARIBYRNONG (ALP) 3.58
MONASH (LIB) 4.01
NICHOLLS (NAT) 5.33
SCULLIN (ALP) 5.04
WANNON (LIB) 6.02
Looks like there could be some Redbridge seat polling coming – some tasters from Simon Holmes a Court who is probably commissioning..
In a Regional seat..
In a Urban seat..
frednk
Of course, but extinction events have always previously been driven by natural events or by selection pressures. The Anthropocene extinction event is completely arbitary in its effect – relatively successful species are at least as likely to be the victims as species at evolutionary dead ends.
However, I do agree with your point that resolving climate change will be a result of greater human management of the environment, not less.
frednk
That was my first memories of climate change discussions. Articles in New Scientist and Scientific American back in the 70’s saying we look to be overdue for an ‘Ice Age’ and pondering if we are delaying it by way of our emissions. 😆
Bushfire Bill says:
Friday, December 10, 2021 at 9:19 pm
What exactly do we owe other species? And why are they so important to preserve exactly as they are now, when all the others are dead, gone and not particularly missed, except for curiosity value?
____________________
Why did you put so much effort into saving Bubsy?
Meanwhile in the UK, their High Court has ruled Assange can be extradited to the USA..
https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/usa-v-julian-assange-2/
Bushfire Bill
No more than what humans owe one another I guess? I would think that a fundamental human value is that we try not to do harm to others. That should be at least as applicable to everything else we share the planet with.
Another excellent question (rare for you, nath).
My best explanation is the he is in the here and now. I found him right in front of me, starving to death, sure bait for a cat or a frogmouth. He hopped up to me at 6pm on a Friday, with barely any tail feathers, completely innocent, seemingly asking for help.
It was love. Instinctive. But I don’t demand that everyone should have done the same.
There, I’ve answered your question. Now answer mine.
Player 1
I don’t think you actually have a clue about where I’m coming from.
I’ve been a student of climate change for more than 2 decades, paleo climatology is one of my main interests and having studied maths, physics, chemistry,biology and geology at a tertiary level I think I know how to read and understand scientific research.
What I’m saying is until we address consumption, we cannot address climate change.
Humanity will survive climate change but the civilisation we live in won’t.
Even without climate change, according to the UN FAO the rates of soil erosion and degradation will leave us with virtually no top soil by the end of this century. Try growing food for 9 billion people on rocks.
@wat
That what gets me, on an geological timescale humans have been around for 3/5ths of fuck all. There have been a number of great extinctions. Thus I find the current concern about the planet quite selfish as it is relly concern about us as human society.
To assume that the current global warming crisis is a planetary crisis is just an extension of our anthropomorphic point of view. The planet will go on, it has done, humans are just a blip in the cycle of life, life will evolve no matter if we make it inhabitable for people.
However, I have no doubt that humans will prosper somehow, if not here but elsewhere with technology but it will be extreme and not in my lifetime
Zoomster
The planet as a ball of matter held together by gravitational forces, sure. The planet as a place capable of supporting life? Maybe not so much.