(We) can do better

Non-monogamy and colony inheritance are the leading causes of conflict among termites, but these social cockroaches prove you don’t always need a big brain to get to the bottom of even the curliest of problems peacefully, new research from Charles Darwin University (CDU) has found.

Study author Judith Korb, a CDU and University of Freiburg researcher, investigated a termite species found in Darwin and its mangroves to analyse which mechanisms these invertebrates have evolved to resolve conflict.

An ABC program actually dealing with immigration statistics is fairly rare. But it seems that even some right-wing pro-growth commentators have been raising concern about the statistic that 1544 new migrants  are arriving every day. "1544 people who need housing". The IPA, normally a fan of population growth,  has suggested that "excessive migration has pummelled Australia's economic productivity". 

At the Brain Cancer Centre, Royal Melbourne Hospital, WEHI, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Victorian brain cancer researchers have achieved a global-first, using an innovative process to learn how a new drug suppresses tumour activity and provides hope to patients with low-grade gliomas (LGG). 

We’ve got a problem in Australia.  For many decades our way of life has been under attack from within.  A persistent voice via the mainstream media has ruled our dinner party conversations. 

Let’s start with the way we live in suburbs of large cities - largely in detached bungalows surrounded by gardens.  

If politicians don’t include immigration numbers in their platforms, how can voters make their voices heard? Established theory explains why the pressure for faster population growth, driven by a minority that benefits commercially, is much more effective than the pressure against population growth from a majority that bears the costs.

Although more people are openly expressing opposition to Australia's extreme immigration numbers, some people are still afraid to speak out, or even to admit there is a problem. How has self-censorship become so effective in silencing objection to the excessive volume of immigration that is driving rapid population growth and cost of living increase in Australia?

Kevork Almassian interviews Hovik Manucharyan on the subject of US President Trump's bizarre corridor 'deal' with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia and Turkey.  This very enlightening interview is led into with an extract from Trump's meeting with Armenian President Pashinyan and Azabaijarian President Ilham Aliyev, who are both internationally known as giant sleezes in the region.

More than two years after the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) completed its investigation into Casey Council, the findings remain hidden. “Operation Sandon” was a five-year investigation into allegations of serious corrupt conduct, involving planning and property development decisions at Casey Council.

Despite the scale and severity of the allegations, the Office of Public Prosecutions has not laid a single charge against any of those investigated - there is no report, no documents, and no further information available on IBAC’s website.

Today, the 99th anniversary of the birth of Fidel Castro (1926-2016), Afshin Rattansi (@AfshinRattansi), the presenter of RT's Going Underground, posted to X/Twitter following four minutes speech by Fidel Castro that he gave to the United Nations in 1979. That video is included below. In that speech, he explained that, instead of bombing remote parts of the world, Cuba sends hundreds of doctors to help fight disease and improve the health of people in those regions.

The Cuban Revolution

On January 1 1959, Fidel Castro, Che Guavara and the guerilla army they led, known as the July 26 Movement, overthrew the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista. The new Cuban government commenced a program for the benefit of the poorest Cubans including the confiscation of land of the wealthiest landholders and redistributing that land to over 100,000 peasants. As a consequence of such reforms, the United States began a campaign to overthrow the Cuban government which continues to this day. This includes a trade embargo and support for covert military action against the Cuban government and the more overt Bay of Pigs invasion, which was launched on 17 April 1961.

Climate change poses a real and growing risk to Victoria’s built environment says a report tabled today by the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee. Metropolitan Melbourne faces distinct climate change risks due to its high population density and impervious surfaces,intensifying the heat island effect.

Since many people will believe that the Online Safety Act is there to protect children from sexual predators and exposure to lewd or aggressive sexual material, it is relevant to note that pornography websites are not included in this 'online safety ban.'  Australian political comedian, Lewis Spears, says that this clearly means that the Online Safety Act is not about 'protecting children.'  See end of article for performance dates in Frankston and Canberra in Australia.

Ricky Lanusse wrote, "Shrinking Humanity Won’t Save a Burning Planet: How population panic became the ultimate cop-out, " in in The Medium, August 2025. I will spare readers here the text of the article, which you can probably imagine. I responded as below.

Humans have a magnificent brain, one that even while at rest churns through more information in 30 seconds than the Hubble space telescope has processed in thirty years. In fact the brain absorbs so much data it also has to decide which is relevant and which to ignore, a feature that makes us terrible witnesses.

On 27 November 2024, the Australian House of Representatives passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, a law ostensibly designed to protect children from the harms of social media. While the stated intention behind the bill is widely supported, the way it has been introduced and debated (or arguably not debated) raises serious concerns about democratic transparency, proportionality, and the erosion of online freedoms for all Australians.

Online Safety or Overreach? Concerns About the Social Media Minimum Age Bill 2024

Transcript from Clayton Morris of Redacted Inc's discussion with Neil Oliver, former BBC archaeological history commentator, who shares his theories about immigration and progressive ideologies in Scotland and elsewhere. He says the mainstream media which formerly promoted him, now marginalizes him for his opinions. He finds solace in the support of interesting and courageous individuals, who are grateful for his speaking out.

Although Church of England clergy arrived with the first fleet and were appointed to manage social policy in Australia, including ongoing settlement via immigration, the Church of England seemed to concentrate less on independently building its own congregations and institutions than the Catholic Church.

"The first and most important point to make is that most of what you have been told by politicians about the ban is complete and utter rubbish." (Professor Emerita Anne Twomey)

Outfits like the Grattan Institute argue that Australia needs to maintain a high immigration policy to maximise productivity growth.  Their analysis consistently overlooks the empirical evidence showing that Australia’s productivity growth declined as immigration surged.

In this video, ABC economics journalist Alan Kohler succumbs to YIMBY propaganda, presenting a mathematical problem in a fundamentally flawed way by omitting a crucial factor: immigration. This oversight renders the analysis not only incomplete but absurd, highlighting the importance of considering all variables in any economic equation.

Theory and tradition suggest that when individuals are raised in environments where kinship is emphasized, the likelihood of sexual relationships diminishes, thereby enhancing safety for children. Conversely, when children are cared for by strangers—where these protective relationship-mechanisms are absent—there may be increased vulnerability to sexual exploitation.

Kevork Almassian talks to Sarkis Yousef about the War Clouds Over Damascus, Israeli Airstrikes, and the Continued Attacks Against the Syrian Minorities

The Victorian Government's authoritarian Activity Centres program, heralded, by some, as a means to deliver "more than 300,000 additional homes by 2051," is presented as a progressive response to Melbourne's self-induced housing crisis. However, the reality seems closer to slum construction, ultimately compromising residents' quality of life and democratic rights.