Lead poisoning by Susan Grimsdell
In children’s story books you’re never in any doubt over who are the baddies. Just looking at the pictures makes you shiver in your shoes and gives kids nightmares. In real life, unfortunately, it’s impossible to pick them out. I was reminded of this when I recently read Bill Bryson’s account of lead, as in lead-based paint, and especially, lead-based petrol. Lead is bad news. It accumulates in the body and causes all sorts of problems, to the brain, the kidneys, the nervous system, just about everything in fact, in adults, and… Read More
Outnumbered by viruses by Susan Grimsdell
I’ve been reading about viruses. There are trillions of them. For example, in a litre of sea water a scientist identified 100 billion viruses. Hundreds of thousands inhabit our bodies, but luckily very few of those have been found to affect us – so far, just 263 out of those hordes. This is something I did not know, that they are everywhere inside our bodies, in our noses, on our skin, in our lungs, in the gastrointestinal tract, swarms and swarms of them. A sense of purpose They are not alive. They… Read More
Taxing the super rich by Susan Grimsdell
NZ’s richest man, Graeme Hart, got headlines not long ago for donating fishing boats, tractors and a container of breakfast food to Tonga. Well, good on him, but where was the accompanying headline reporting that he is one of the super rich people who, thanks to a rigged economic system, grew his fortune by $3.4 billion during the Covid pandemic which has caused the worst recession since the 1930s. Avoidance of tax Recently, Hart lost a tax fight in Chile, a battle he had been fighting in the courts for 6 years. … Read More
Family Covid by Susan Grimsdell
The media has been full of dire news about the devastating effects of Covid since it appeared on the planet a couple of years ago. Millions of people have contracted the virus, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Businesses have collapsed, governments have incurred enormous debt, families have been separated for even the most important events, like funerals and weddings. Inter-family feuds There has been deep division at the more individual, personal level too. Family parties have been disrupted when one or two members are against being vaccinated, and the rest… Read More
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