[contd.]

5,

There is no end. There is no completion, closing of the circle, or becoming at one with God. There is only muddling, confusion, wrong-headness, idiocy, uncertainty, change (cf. Heraclitus), unfinishedness, loose ends, misuse and pure evil, and general chaos in life in general, and in government in particular, of which the present Gillard government is but one, rather negative, example.

That's democracy, imperfect, even defective, at times seeming to unravel then ravel again, the clash of classes which are always undergoing differential changes in their fortunes due largely to what Marx would have called 'the development of productive forces', and therefore experiencing a shifting balance of power, and hence changes in government. A pretty lousy system, but as somebody is supposed to have said, it sure beats whatever comes second.

That has to be the system that we live with, try to improve, and support, along with its accompanying - and definitional - freedoms, of speech, of assembly and of expression. This includes the media. Every ratbag and idiot should be allowed the right to express herself - just as much as you or I can as representatives of our superior class of people. Our inferiors should have the rights that we take for granted - that's the essence of democracy, a precious but fragile flower, easily trampled, and we all have to cope with the consequences of its workings.

Greg Melleuish has a great article on this subject in today's Australian, in which he concludes:

"Free politics requires freedom of expression. It requires vigorous debate. Without that debate there are many, especially in sections of the government and of the universities, who would love nothing more than to have a monopoly over ideas in this country."

The article is just under one by a Labor Party member, Graham Richardson, and alongside another article by another Labour Party member, Barry Cohen. Just what you would expect from a Murdoch rag.

Cheers,

Joe

NASA Finds Sea Ice Decline Driving Rise in Arctic Air Pollutants


WASHINGTON -- Drastic reductions in Arctic sea ice in the last decade may be intensifying the chemical release of bromine into the atmosphere, resulting in ground-level ozone depletion and the deposit of toxic mercury in the Arctic, according to a new NASA-led study.

The connection between changes in the Arctic Ocean's ice cover and bromine chemical processes is determined by the interaction between the salt in sea ice, frigid temperatures and sunlight. When these mix, the salty ice releases bromine into the air and starts a cascade of chemical reactions called a "bromine explosion." These reactions rapidly create more molecules of bromine monoxide in the atmosphere. Bromine then reacts with a gaseous form of mercury, turning it into a pollutant that falls to Earth's surface.

Bromine also can remove ozone from the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere. Despite ozone's beneficial role blocking harmful radiation in the stratosphere, ozone is a pollutant in the ground-level troposphere.

A team from the United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom, led by Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., produced the study, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research- Atmospheres. The team combined data from six NASA, European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency satellites, field observations and a model of how air moves in the atmosphere to link Arctic sea ice changes to bromine explosions over the Beaufort Sea, extending to the Amundsen Gulf in the Canadian Arctic.

"Shrinking summer sea ice has drawn much attention to exploiting Arctic resources and improving maritime trading routes," Nghiem said. "But the change in sea ice composition also has impacts on the environment. Changing conditions in the Arctic might increase bromine explosions in the future."