Ocean observation of opaque octopus...

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...or more accurately glass octopus. Ah nostalgia! Saw this Massimo* tweet and immediately thought of Paul (nearly 13 years ago!).

Massimo links to the Schmidt Ocean Institute with the story, photos and videos: 

"scientists made two rare sightings of a glass octopus, a nearly transparent species whose only visible features are its optic nerve, eyeballs and digestive tract. Before this expedition, there has been limited live footage of the glass octopus, forcing scientists to learn about the animal by studying specimens found in the gut contents of predators." 

* proof that Twitter isn't only a raging troll infested bear-pit free-for-all.

Older opium outlook...

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Image from RFI (France)

Interesting insights into the Afghanistan government's (AKA The Taliban) successful ban on opium production. William Byrd [Link to article] writing at The United States Institute of Peace [About] says "The ban is not a counter-narcotics victory and will have negative economic and humanitarian consequences, potentially leading to a refugee crisis." 

This isn't the first time; the previous successful ban was in 2000/01 (and we all know what happened just afterwards and Helmand is 'by far Afghanistan's largest opium-producing province'...complete coincidence though). 

Banning opium production sounds like it is a noble cause right, especially as "Unlike the Taliban's previous opium ban, the current ban encompasses trade and processing of opiates, not just poppy cultivation." BUT the cultivated and harvest bumper crop from last year is not only exempted from destruction but also the trade of it can carry on. That said it does mean they are aware that bankrupting much of the rural population isn't a good thing either, so again, they've learnt from last time! 

Also, the noble cause is further tainted by the possibility that it is an economic ruse to restrict supply to allow the market price to rise and they can cash in on their large stock (super simplified and not wholly accurate, as discussed in links below). 

The article sheds more light on the whole situation and is definitely worth a read, with many references and info from David Mansfield reports at Alcis, ("Truly Unprecedented") and the Chapter 'Repositioning a Pariah Regime' from Mansfield's book A State Built on Sand is excellent [PDF] 

The war/s, COVID crises and intermittently closed borders cause -and have caused- much hardship over the years (you don't say) and 'although numerous eradication programmes have been underway for several years' (from picture link), Afghanistan has continued to be the world's main producer of opium (over 80% of total), so any ban is very likely to be temporary...ahem.

Ocean observation; orarian oblectation...

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Today is World Ocean Day, something I fully support* [Ocean Conservancy]. "If you are lucky enough to be an orarian (coastal dweller) I hope you appreciate your circumstances; if you are lucky or rich enough to ever get into outer-space and you look down at The Earth, most of what you see will be the blue of water: over 70% of the planet's surface is covered by ocean and it is because of this that the Earth is sometimes called "the water planet" - less than three-tenths (maths was always a strong point) of our globe is covered with land." just looked at that from my Our Ocean obligation...post in 2006. Hope it's still true ;-) 

Another interesting stat: How much water is there on the planet? Less than 3% of that is freshwater. Of that, nearly 70% is in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow, and 30% sits in ground water.

Of course the oceans aren't just water: there is the very bad, and the good: Obambulating

"95% to 98% of the biomass in the ocean is in microbes, which produce about half of the oxygen on the planet."

There are more than 1030 viruses on Earth and the oceans are...er, An Ocean of Viruses. "The sheer number of viruses and their intimate relationship with microbial life suggest that viruses play a critical role in the planet’s biosphere."

"Ocean viruses may turn over as much as 150 gigatons of carbon per year... "

Good info from NASA: "The story of oceans is the story of life. Oceans define our home planet, covering the majority of Earth’s surface and driving the water cycle that dominates our land and atmosphere. But more profound still, the story of our oceans envelops our home in a far larger context that reaches deep into the universe and places us in a rich family of ocean worlds that span our solar system and beyond." (well, it is NASA!)

* unlike many other 'name Days' and despite the fact that the climate change hysteria has affected ALL such institutions and charities. Also World Water Day, World Toilet Day and World Water Monitoring Day are up there and worth a mention. 

Overtly Orwellian overreaction...

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Scott Atlas is one of a small group that has been consistantly correct throughout the whole 'COVID era'. America's COVID Response Was Based on Lies [Newsweek]: 

"The tragic failure of reckless, unprecedented lockdowns that were contrary to established pandemic science, and the added massive harms of those policies on children, the elderly, and lower-income families, are indisputable and well-documented in numerous[ ]studies. This was the biggest, the most tragic, and the most unethical breakdown of public health leadership in modern history."

And there were far better ways [October 2020]:

"As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection." 

Like I wrote back then regarding the scam and casedemic: There is NO doubt about this. We are being lied to. Crimes have been committed.

Back to Scott Atlas: he writes that him nor other heroes trying to change the craziness by providing facts, data and alternative actions should be so naïve as to expect a direct apology from critics at their employers (Stanford University in his case) or from the government and academic public health officials but I think that is exactly what they should expect, and get, very loud and very clear. 

This madness must never be allowed to happen again and as the famous truism goes, admitting you have a problem is the first step to fixing it': Acceptance MUST happen to enable recovery. Without acceptance from TPTB and many lower done, there will be no real recovery. 

From back then too: 

Image by Steve Bright (here on Twitter)

Outing official opiniasters: omissions, obfuscation or obscurantism...

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BBC = Ministry of Truth. Irony lost on BBC

...or indeed all of the above! The UK's state broadcaster (Auntie, The Beeb, the BBC) "says its new Verify service will subject its own journalism to more rigorous fact-checking. But a far less neutral agenda appears to be concealed beneath this lofty aspiration". Laughable to anyone who cares to even scratch the surface. 

"The BBC isn’t exposing disinformation. It's peddling it" writes Jonathan Cook; he's 100% correct. 

 "Why the BBC is launching its Verify service is all too clear. Trust in the establishment media, and the BBC in particular, has hit an all-time low. That itself poses a threat to the broadcaster’s Reithian [*] purpose: to impress a national consensus on the public mind that serves the British state." 

[*] Lord Reith, founder of the BBC:

'They [the government] know they can trust us not to be really impartial.' (C. Stuart, ed., 'The Reith Diaries', 1975)
[Media Lens Twitter LINK]