Glass Wings Blog

The Glass Wings mailing list and blog is for general idle chit-chat about things we find interesting, especially humor, animation or other subjects relevant to the Glass Wings web site.

Putin is invading more than Ukraine

Wed, 9 Jul 2025 07:01:39 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-invasion-ukraine-russia-romania-elections-democracy-nato-eu-donald-trump/>

"We all know Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine with tanks in
2022. But many don’t know that in 2024, he invaded Romania — with tweets.

Cape Town’s sewage treatment isn’t coping: scientists are worried about what the city is telling the public

Wed, 9 Jul 2025 07:00:16 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/cape-towns-sewage-treatment-isnt-coping-scientists-are-worried-about-what-the-city-is-telling-the-public-260317>

"Urban water bodies – rivers, lakes and oceans – are in trouble globally. Large
sewage volumes damage the open environment, and new chemicals and
pharmaceutical compounds don’t break down on their own. When they are released

Angélique Kidjo first black African to get Hollywood Walk of Fame star

Wed, 9 Jul 2025 06:57:36 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx2g5znggpo

'Musical icon Angélique Kidjo has become the first black African performer to
be selected for a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A test of political courage: Yoorrook’s final reports demand action, not amnesia

Wed, 9 Jul 2025 06:56:29 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/a-test-of-political-courage-yoorrooks-final-reports-demand-action-not-amnesia-260580>

"Australia’s colonial era may be formally over but its legacies of inequality,
land dispossession and systemic racism continue to shape daily life for First
Peoples.

‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels

Wed, 9 Jul 2025 06:55:35 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.science.org/content/article/it-s-nightmare-u-s-funding-cuts-threaten-academic-science-jobs-all-levels>

"It was a conversation neither wanted to have. Last month, University of
Maryland professor Anne Simon broke the difficult news to Xiaobao Ying that she
didn’t have funding to extend his assistant research scientist position beyond

Ageing isn’t the same everywhere – why inflammation may be a lifestyle problem

Wed, 9 Jul 2025 06:53:12 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/ageing-isnt-the-same-everywhere-why-inflammation-may-be-a-lifestyle-problem-260322>

"For years, scientists have believed that inflammation inevitably increases
with age, quietly fuelling diseases like heart disease, dementia and diabetes.
But a new study of Indigenous populations challenges that idea and could

Offshore wind turbines near impossible to see in visualisations for Gippsland zone

Tue, 8 Jul 2025 23:17:35 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://reneweconomy.com.au/offshore-wind-turbines-near-impossible-to-see-in-visualisations-for-gippsland-zone/>

"With the naked eye, it will be nigh impossible to see offshore wind turbines
from Gippsland beaches, according to updated visualisations issued by the
Victoria state government.

Russia is paying schoolgirls to have babies. Why is pronatalism on the rise around the world?

Tue, 8 Jul 2025 23:16:46 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/russia-is-paying-schoolgirls-to-have-babies-why-is-pronatalism-on-the-rise-around-the-world-258979>

"In some parts of Russia, schoolgirls who become pregnant are being paid more
than 100,000 roubles (nearly £900) for giving birth and raising their babies.

First electric buses begin operating in Perth’s suburban network

Tue, 8 Jul 2025 23:15:46 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://thedriven.io/2025/07/07/first-electric-buses-begin-operating-in-perths-suburban-network/>

"The first electric buses to begin operating beyond the Western Australian
capital of Perth’s CBD district are now ready to go, with around 90 set to be
operating from Transperth’s Malaga depot by the first half of 2026.

The hard questions NZ must ask about the claimed economic benefits of fast-track mining projects

Tue, 8 Jul 2025 23:14:37 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/the-hard-questions-nz-must-ask-about-the-claimed-economic-benefits-of-fast-track-mining-projects-259779>

"Much of the debate about the fast-track applications by a number of new or
extended mining projects has, understandably, focused on their environmental
impacts. But the other side of the equation – economic growth and investment,