RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Good morning ,

Greetings from the beautiful medieval city of Ghent in Belgium. Walked around the old city for hours yesterday, in light drizzling rain, pedestrians and myriad bike-riders untroubled by the long trams which snake through the cobbled streets. 

You can always tell the tourists (travellers?) .. they are the ones who look up as they're walking around. 

The building below is one of the oldest surviving in Ghent. If you look carefully, it says, "Anno 1609". 

In this spirit, some international stories of note ...

Lead stories

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is 30 hours from where I am in Belgium, but still ...

Yes, everything in France is awful, apart from the fact that it has one of the lowest levels of inequality in the world, devotes a higher percentage of GDP to redistributing market inequalities than any of its wealthy peers, is near the top for average life expectancy, its workers retire earlier than anyone else in Europe (with the lowest rate of poverty), and unemployment is at its lowest in a generation.

We keep on about this issue, but it's gaining traction - see below.

Other stories of interest

Scientific research thwarted by religious attitudes?

The French Government has announced a plan to shake up the country’s scientific research, including investing an extra A$42.5 billion. Us? We spend $11.9 billion. The French spend 2.3 % of GDP on science while we spend 0.6%. Why??

Dogs With Dementia Show a Curious Similarity to Humans With Alzheimer's

It's mostly about getting a good night's sleep...

Lessons from Singapore that could improve Australian cities

1. Clean up the river
2. Create more urban green spaces
3. Fix the traffic!
4. Use public facilities as community centres.

Was proud to wear my "Democracy, not monarchy" t-shirt yesterday! My Belgian friends tell me monarchy is considered an anachronism around here.

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