The press has jumped on a study from UQ and the CSIRO showing 'climate change could overtake habitat loss as the biggest cause of species loss'.
Just two interesting things:
First, the research is described as 'the first world-scale empirical analysis of the combined impacts of habitat loss and climate change'. Empirical study of impacts of climate change? What are these observable impacts exactly? Disappearing glaciers? Coral bleaching?
Second, the lead researcher is a PhD candidate with a B.Sc. Fine - but why is a project led by a PhD candidate gaining such unquestioning reportage?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
What about real threats to privacy?
Stephanie Dowrick says privacy is important. Too right!
Dowrick (as in most of her writing) focuses on the personal. She suggests it's unwise to 'tell everything' on Facebook. Fair enough.
However Dowrick does think privacy concerns are wider than social media.
And what's the problem? Surprise surprise, Murdoch's News of the World. Apparently the biggest privacy issue we face is the fact that actor Sienna Miller was chased down the street by paparazzi.
Why are Australian progressives - who've never given a stuff about privacy - suddenly shocked at the treatment of British celebrities? By a paper that's been closed down?
What about some anger at Centrelink harassing and videoing welfare recipients? Or the Federal Government's surveillance of environmental activists? (Bob Brown did condemn this as 'wasting public money' - not a privacy issue for the Greens though, apparently.)
Dowrick (as in most of her writing) focuses on the personal. She suggests it's unwise to 'tell everything' on Facebook. Fair enough.
However Dowrick does think privacy concerns are wider than social media.
And what's the problem? Surprise surprise, Murdoch's News of the World. Apparently the biggest privacy issue we face is the fact that actor Sienna Miller was chased down the street by paparazzi.
Why are Australian progressives - who've never given a stuff about privacy - suddenly shocked at the treatment of British celebrities? By a paper that's been closed down?
What about some anger at Centrelink harassing and videoing welfare recipients? Or the Federal Government's surveillance of environmental activists? (Bob Brown did condemn this as 'wasting public money' - not a privacy issue for the Greens though, apparently.)
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