What I want for Christmas – for people, especially the media, to tell the truth a bit more often.

I was 7 when I discovered that Father Christmas was not real. Yes, a bit slow indeed. I felt so betrayed that my parents had lied to me. At least it solved the mystery of why I (badly behaved) got beaut presents, and my best friend (well behaved) got little ones. Twas all about the money available in each household, not about being naughty or nice.

The world, especially my world – the “Western world” continues to perpetrate comfortable weasel words and downright lies. And it all goes a bit crazy at this time of year - the addiction to rampant consumerism taking precedence over spending lovely times with family and friends.

Some of my favourite current lies. Top lie is ‘THE CLOUD’, and “CLOUD COMPUTING”. The only genuine cloud here is the veil of lies that covers the truth about the digital system – uncontrolled spread of steel and concrete datafarm monstrosities, guzzling water and electricity.

Then there are all the military lies and euphemisms “collateral damage” “special military operation” . In the case of the Israeli obliteration of Palestinians – there are the “targeting Hamas, not Palestinions” , “right to self-defence” , ”saving civilian lives” ”lowering the intensity” – when what is really meant is genocide.

Climate change action – is full of dubiously worded stuff, vaguely worded COP 28 statements with no effective target or date to “transition away from fossil fuels”- and “transitional fuels can play a role”

Then there are the obfuscations, weasel words, and downright lies of the nuclear lobby – “clean” “green” “sustainable” “low carbon” “low cost” ………….

So, for Christmas and the New Year, it would be nice to read and hear some straight words that actually match the facts.

December 18, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes

5 Comments »

Why havent you put anything up about the 1200 tons of fish that washed up, in Japan. It happened only 2 months after the fukushima water dump

Comment by Veli | December 19, 2023 | Reply
- Veli. My reason is that I am doubtful that these fish deaths were caused by radiation. I would expect radiation to affect marine life more slowly. I don’t like to attribute radiation as the cause of sickness or death in a situation like this. Without any further information on what happened to the fish, I think that there could be other causes. And until someone comes up with some factual evidence, I would hold fire about this matter.
  
  Comment by Christina Macpherson | December 19, 2023 | Reply
  - https://english.news.cn/20231022/9eb33d058c324d8aaf65f46a55beb000/c.html
    
    TOKYO, Oct. 22, 2022 (Xinhua) — The third batch of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water to be released during Japan’s next round of ocean discharge contains carbon-14, cobalt 60, strontium-90 and other radionuclides, according to pre-discharge test results released by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Despite mounting concerns and opposition among local fishermen as well as from other countries, TEPCO said that preparations for the third round of ocean discharge will begin after the second round of discharge is completed and relevant maintenance and confirmation operations are carried out.
    
    Organisms may die slowly from bursts of exposure, to raw ionizing radiation.
    What you say is just not true about radionuclide ingestion. Especially to captive animals like fish. Many high level radionuclides, are acutely lethal at nanodoses of billionths or millionths of a gram. Like the russian man poisoned by polonum. The japanese will not even release data about the real concentrations of the radionuclides in dead fish. How can you believe and promulgate such nonsense. There are numerous other factors from the radionuclides, in the water that could have coverged to kill the fish as well as the radionuclide poisoning. Factors like nutrent ablation. The killoff is umprecedented in size. It occured within a relatively short time of the release of the radionuclide. They were released into a current, that goes north. So wrong headed and ignorant. What do you really know about radionuclides. Not much. You confuse radionuclides with radiation
    
    Comment by Lla | December 19, 2023
  - Thank you, Veli. You are right. I do not know that much about radionuclides. I was assuming that the nuclear-contaminated release of the Fukushima waste-water contained an extremely low level of radionuclides. That is what Japan and the IAEA have been telling us. I have been believing them, and basing my own opinion on the likely effects of low levels on marine life of a wide area over a long period of time. Even that would be bad. You are assuming that the water contained a high level of radionuclides. But we don’t know this for a fact, do we? There is still the possibility of other causes. I am not “believing and promulgating nonsense”. I just want to be clear about the facts.
    
    Comment by Christina Macpherson | December 19, 2023
  - p.s. “The Japanese will not even release data about the real concentrations of the radionuclides in dead fish”. That is the really interesting bit!
    
    Comment by Christina Macpherson | December 19, 2023