SARS-CoV-2 two years on

It's now two years since SARS-CoV-2 started its move across the world. From 2020, the Johns Hopkins Tracker has charted the data in terms of cases, mortality, jurisdiction and vaccinations. There has always been a level of under-reporting and poor data capture in many countries, nonetheless the staggering number of infections (over 300 million and still counting) and deaths (over 5 million and continuing) is sobering.

The link to the tracker: Johns Hopkins COVID tracker

The World Health Organisation has warned that the current variant, Omicron should not be considered a 'mild' disease simply due to being less lethal than the Delta variant. It can still be a serious infection as with COVID-19 generally.

Richard Flanagan's book 'Toxic' should be required reading

The Tasmanian salmon industry has long been promoted as ecological, natural, sustainable and providing healthy food consumption for humans. Author, Richard Flanagan comprehensively proves otherwise in his expose on this industry. Published in 2021, the book attracted initial controversy and outrage and highlighted many uncomfortable truths ensnaring well-known companies, Tassal and Huon Aquaculture.  

There have been a few stories, rumours and a small number of comments from scientists that all was not well with the salmon industry in Tasmania. In only 189 pages, Flanagan's book brings all of the evidence and information to bear in an unequivocal condemnation of the aquaculture methods used for salmon farming in the Apple Isle.

To quote from the book " And so we discover that a food product marketed as capable of treating cancer, of miraculously increasing male virility and restoring women's beauty, is in reality a compound of synthetic dye, antibiotics, petrochemical derivatives, the macerated remains of battery hen beaks, skulls, claws. guts and feathers once destined for abattoir waste streams, along with fishmeal made from jeopardised fish stocks stabilised with pesticide also used to stop car tyres cracking that happens to be a carcinogen, and soy meal that has possible links to slave labour and the deforestration of the Amazon and the destruction of the Cerrado and that drives global warming'" [page 72]

It is no small claim to compare the importance of this book to the seminal work by Rachel Carlson 'Silent Spring' which has been a foundation block for environmental science for decades. 

Of note, Australian mining magnate and known environmentalist, Andrew Forrest attempted to take over Huon Aquaculture in 2021 but was beaten by Brazil-based international meat processor giant JBS in November 2021. It remains to be seen whether JBS cleans up Huon's operations in Tasmania or not.

2022 - the COVID-19 period continues

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A new year has commenced and brings the continuing pandemic with it. The new variant of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), Omicron, is considered by health professionals to be two to three times more infectious than its predecessors. This is thought to be due to changes in the spike protein and its immune evasion properties in comparison to previous COVID infections. 

Of note, no longer will the basic surgical mask or the cloth masks provide any protection (if these ever did) but rather it must be the P2/N95 level of mask which must be correctly fitted so that air is drawn through the mask rather than from any gaps around the face. The benefit of using face masks to prevent transmission of the virus has been demonstrated across the world and will need to remain a basic part of the community's attire for the immediate future. 

The year that was 2021 and the year that is coming 2022

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2021 is a year that most people would prefer to simply disappear. To describe the last twelve months as 'challenging' is a misnomer and under-estimation of the level of difficulty with which Australia and the world has had to contend. A listing of some of the key events of 2021 provides a brief insight -

• COVID-19: just as the vaccines (from pharma companies, Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer and Moderna) rolled out in large quantities, the virus mutated not at all surprisingly.  New variants most notably Delta and the almost sci-fi name of  'Omicron' became the new dominant mutations raising the concern that the virus may be able to break-through the vaccines. As global management consultancy, McKinsey & Co commented "COVID-19 continues to pose risks, and managing it as endemic will require a momentous societal shift. Perhaps the hardest part will be coming to terms with the idea that this is no temporary phenomenon; we all must make permanent behavioural changes after the crisis". COVID-19 is here to stay and the pandemic remains an ongoing crisis into 2022. 
• AUKUS: The announcement of a new strategic alliance titled AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom and The United States) took many countries by surprise not the least, France, that had a contract to build new diesel submarines for Australia. The new alliance included providing Australia with the capability to build nuclear submarines thus rendering the contract with France null and void. The diplomatic fallout was predictable and public.
• World economy and supply chains: the fact that the world economy did not shrink further is a surprise. The fact that global supply chains have been severely disrupted is not. With the supply of goods and services now segmented, out-sourced and distributed globally, delays and  shutdowns in several countries affected the rest of the world. A single container ship, Ever Given, stuck in the Suez Canal caused losses estimated at USD $9.6 billion per day. The experience of COVID-19 has led to calls in many countries for better self sufficiency in the future, yet the impact of this situation will continue for the next few years.
• Taliban return to power in Afghanistan: the 20 year war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban once again in power. The Western nations appeared shocked and surprised however closer examination has shown the inevitability of the Government in Kabul falling from power. Non existent relationships with local provincial communities, massive corruption and an army that was not paid for months all led to the demise. The lessons of previous civil wars clearly had not been heeded. 
• New US President: Joe Biden was elected president of the United States defeating Donald Trump leading to hopes that the US would again play a role in international relations that Trump had largely abandoned. Biden certainly reopened dialogue which his predecessor had closed off. 
• COP26 Climate Change - Glasgow: COP26 ended without the major agreement that many people and nations had hoped. Against the backdrop of the latest IPCC report, many important decisions were reached such as for methane emissions and there was understanding that CO2 emissions must be reduced well before 2050. The US and China joint statement made it clear that reductions are needed this decade by 2030 if global warming is to be averted. Yet concrete tangible agreement across the world which leads to meaningful target reductions remained elusive.
• Australia's vaccine rollout: despite having tackled the COVID-19 virus effectively in the first year, Australia's vaccine program faltered and ran too slowly in the second pandemic year allowing the virus to reach a foothold again through the Delta variant. By the end of 2021 Australia had caught up with the rest of the world and had administered over 42 million vaccine doses with many States now reaching over 90% of the eligible adult population (over 16 years of age).

2021 has been a difficult year - may 2022 provide some relief and hope.

Christmas 2021

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Christmas 2021: the world still grapples with COVID-19 and its variants, Delta and Omicron. Despite this global situation, the holiday season is upon us whether Summer in the Southern Hemisphere or Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. An opportunity for a pause from the endless, exhausting effect that the pandemic has created.

Christmas in the Christian calendar has many symbols and representations, some of which originate from pagan festivals, others that are distinctly religious while some are simply practices which have evolved over time.

The Christmas tree is one such symbol. Much of what has been conveyed is only myth such as the role of pine trees to Martin Luther who is reported to have believed the trees represented the goodness of God. Or Saint Boniface cutting down a fir tree to prevent a human sacrifice and then converting all the persons present to Christianity. When a new fir tree grew in its place Saint Boniface reputedly hung it upside down to represent the Holy Trinity. None of this is actually historically recorded or reliably reported.

What is known is the Christmas tree was adopted in Germany notably during the 15th Century and well entrenched by the 17th Century. A guild in Freiburg, Germany decorated a tree with apples, flour-paste wafers, tinsel and gingerbread. The demand for trees in the province of Alsace (now part of France) was so great that ordinances were passed restricting each household to one tree. Strasbourg passed laws preventing people from cutting off pine branches.  Unadorned Christmas trees were a common item for sale during Winter and were called 'Weihnachtsbaum'' (or Christmas tree).

In 1848 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert introduced Christmas trees to their family and the palace thereafter the trend became established in Victorian England, before spreading further afield. The practice was then taken up in the United States although not immediately with some resistance from communities that preferred a more pious and religious commemoration of the birth of Jesus. 

The Christmas tree nonetheless has become a ubiquitous part of the Christmas custom.

Merry Christmas !

Ethics Index 2021: Australians faith in ethical conduct declines

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This week the latest Governance Institute/IPSOS Ethic Index 2021 was released and shows a decline in the confidence of adult Australians in ethical behaviour in various industries, professions and institutions. Although a clear fall from the previous year, the rating of ethical conduct remains higher than 2019. So what are the specific findings ?

In summary -

• Overall Australians do consider Australian society to be 'somewhat ethical' with Millenials and Generation X rating with slightly higher scores than Baby Boomers.
• Respondents to the survey were asked to rate the importance of ethics and then compare the importance to the actual perceptions of ethical behaviour.
• Health continues to rate as having high ethical behaviour with a net score of 72% similar to last year which has 73.
• Charity and and Not-for-profit sector were rated as very ethical with an ethics score of 66 from 2020.
• Public Sector as perceived as being 'somewhat ethical' with an Index score of 46 but within public sector services there were wide variations with  fire services rating 85 and ambulance services scoring 79%. In contrast Judges, state,local and federal public servants and politicians were all seen to be less ethical in 2021 than 2020. 
• Federal Parliament rated a very dismal ethical score of -11 and is seen as the least ethical organisation.
• Media sector had a significant fall in ethics rating falling from 22 to 2%.
• Top ethical issues are consistent with previous years. 'Corruption' is in the top position as with previous years followed by 'misleading and deceptive advertising' then 'çompany tax avoidance'.
• While corporate ethical conduct was fairly neutral, high levels of CEO pay was considered unethical.
• Climate change features strongly with the clear majority of Australians (87%) feel there is a moral obligations to take action on climate change, even if it reduces profits, results in job losses or lower jobs in the future (88%).
• Australians feel that the Federal Government has an urgent ethical obligation to take action on climate change (71%) and this has increased from 2020.

The full findings can be located at this link: Governance Institute Ethics Index 2021

Sydney Film Festival 2021 - Film Review - Blue Bayou

Justin Chon - Blue Bayou

A child adopted by a American couple and seemingly a citizen of the country of adoption, the United States, discovers on reaching adulthood that is not the case and deportation back to the country of origin is possible. This extraordinary situation is the subject of Director and screenwriter, Justin Chon's film 'Blue Bayou'. 

Antonio LeBlanc (Chon) adopted as a 3 year old from Korea has spent his entire life in the Louisana bayou country, speaks with the Southern accent and to all intents and purposes is American. He is married to Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and is step-father to her daughter with another child on the way with his wife. The legal system is however unsympathetic and his adopted parents never completed the correct paperwork to confirm his status as a citizen. Antonio hires a lawyer but is unable to effectively mount a legal defence and surrenders to US Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) for deportation back to Korea, a country with which he has no ties.

Incredibly around 35,000 adoptees could be subject to this legal situation in the US. Adopted in the 1980s and 1990 as small children, on reaching 18 years of age they can be deported if their adopted parents have not applied for US citizenship for them. The end credits of this film show the photographs and identities of people already deported.

The film conveys a strong social message and one which highlights the powerlessness of the individual against a system with rigid application.