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The American Democratic party has not ever been and certainly is not now truly democratic. The process by which President Biden’s apparent disability has been concealed and the method party leaders are using to replace him is more reminiscent of Plato’s lying guardians than it is of Aristotle’s democrats. The ancient Greeks gave the world the first democracy. Aristotle, the greatest philosopher of antiquity and the man who summed up the…

The official definition of a “planet” could be set to change again soon. Last time that happened, Pluto was kicked out of the club, but the new proposed definition is designed to be more inclusive. Exactly what a planet is has been remarkably murky for centuries – what we now call planets, moons and even asteroids have all been lumped under that one umbrella at different times. But the real push for an official definition began in the 1990s,…

Parents have been worried about their kids’ sleep since time immemorial. And for valid reasons — good sleep is an essential part of a healthy childhood. Sleep is critical for physical growth, but also for many other aspects of brain development, learning and the development of important social skills. Children observe, experience or are taught things during the day, but they really only ‘learn’ overnight while they’re asleep. In an…

In some good news for nearly half the world's men, scientists have found that a naturally occurring sugar in humans and animals could be harnessed as a topical treatment for male pattern baldness. This discovery could deliver a non-invasive, inexpensive and safer alternative to leading treatment minoxidil. An international team of scientists from the University of Sheffield and COMSATS University Pakistan has found that the organic compound…

Family means everything to John and Catherine and family values are firmly behind the successful operation of JB’s Flooring Xtra, operating in their local Franklin area. John has a wealth of experience in theindustry, having completed his apprenticeship upon leaving school as a carpet layer, and continuing in the industry while Catherine, involved in several office administration and accounts roles cared for their family as they grew. After…

It’s easy to look back at the bad haircuts, beige clothes and brown Beehive carpets and chuckle. But whatever one’s views on its aesthetics, the Fourth Labour Government – elected 40 years ago on July 14 – was no laughing matter. After nine years of economic nationalism and social conservatism under National prime minister Robert Muldoon, David Lange’s new broom left no corner unswept. In the space of a few short years, fuelled by a…

The rising price of food has been making headlines for the past decade. But prices have not been rising consistently across all food groups – and this has major health implications for New Zealanders. Last week Stats NZ released food price data showing the biggest drop in prices in six years. The second quarter consumer price index, due out today, will give a broader overview of the inflationary pressures facing New Zealanders, including the…

There is a lot of good in Housing Minister Chris Bishop’s new housing policy – especially in relation to mixed-use developments and intensification along transit corridors. But he has also proposed the abolition of minimum floor area and balcony requirements. Will removing minimum dwelling sizes result in poor quality housing? The short answer is yes. The minister has justified the minimum requirements by arguing any apartment, regardless of…

Where should real political power and authority reside in New Zealand? Since last year’s election, that’s been the central question behind a number of significant policy reversals. Water infrastructure, health, tertiary education and tax have all been affected by the political and philosophical tensions between competing models of local and central decision making. Put simply, the previous Labour government tended to favour centralising…

At first glance, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has just put in a performance for the ages in the British general election. The incoming prime minister controls a comfortable parliamentary majority, Tory bastions have fallen to the left and the right, and any number of curtains have been brought down on the careers of Tory MPs and ministers. Whisper it quietly, but the curtain might also have fallen on the electoral system that delivered Starmer…

The cynicism of modern-day youth presents us with a great teachable moment. We must tell history as a great myth, for myths are often the best way of expressing truths. They are also the lifeblood of civilizations. “History is marble, and remains forever cold, even under the most artistic hand, unless life is breathed into it by the imagination. Then the marble becomes flesh and blood—then it feels, it thinks, it moves, and is…

Urb is on a mission to remake Dubai's landscape into a lush paradise. Following its proposals for the Dubai Mangroves and Dubai Reefs projects, the firm's new Green Spine envisions transforming a highway in the region with trams, park areas, farms, and the planting of more than one million trees. Assuming for the moment that it actually goes ahead, the Green Spine will have a length of 64 km (almost 40 miles) and will be centered around…

The answers to the errors of modern times need to be given in philosophy and theology, but it is essential that we also experience the truth imaginatively. *Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all* *Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know*. —Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” These famous lines of Keats have charmed and delighted readers for two centuries, but skeptics have scoffed at his claim, especially as beauty is well known to be…

No creature in the history of planet Earth sparks the imagination quite like Tyrannosaurus rex. But how do we separate the movie-monster myth from the actual animal? Victoria the T-rex, a traveling exhibition currently visiting Melbourne Museum in Australia sets the record straight with recent discoveries about what T-rex looked and sounded like, how it sensed the world, and how it hunted. Discovered in South Dakota, USA, in 2013, Victoria is…

Researchers have figured out how a commonly used general anesthetic drug induces unconsciousness by causing brain activity to become increasingly unstable. The findings could lead to better anesthetic control in the operating room and treatments for conditions like depression and schizophrenia. A patient’s level of consciousness is very relevant in healthcare and is sometimes considered a vital sign indicative of a patient’s medical or…

If you find yourself being more impatient than ever before when interacting with people in customer service roles — or if you’ve noticed other people having a shorter fuse and snapping more quickly — you’re not alone. Recent news stories have shed light on how toxic customers are causing employees to reach their breaking point. The resulting epidemic of “quiet quitting” and resignations is further fuelled by a post-pandemic labour shortage in…

As the world recovers from Friday's massive IT outage, who will pick up the bill for the damage? From airlines to financial services, a huge number of industries were affected. After the chaos of Friday's global IT outage - without doubt the worst the world has seen - questions are starting to be asked about who, if anyone, will pick up the bill. Somewhat surprisingly, particularly given its share price has doubled during the year and was…

Using biowaste from cassava plants, scientists have created a coating that virtually eliminates friction in metal parts. The breakthrough has the potential to deliver better fuel economy, extend the lifespan of moving parts, and deliver enormous savings in myriad industries. For all they can do for us, moving parts inside machinery come with an inherent problem: friction. According to a research paper just released by scientists from…

People living with diabetes might have a new hope. Scientists have tested a new drug therapy in diabetic mice, and found that it boosted insulin-producing cells by 700% over three months, effectively reversing their disease. Beta cells in the pancreas have the important job of producing insulin in response to blood sugar levels, but a hallmark of diabetes is that these cells are either destroyed or can’t produce enough insulin. The most common…

On June 29, 2014,  Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stood at the podium of the al-Nuri Mosque, in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. He spoke to the world, declaring the establishment of the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' (ISIS), and called for Muslims across the world to escalate a war against what he termed "the enemies of god". Just weeks before Al-Baghdadi made his declaration, the terror group had taken Mosul when a few hundred ISIS men chased out…