£1.5 Million of British Taxpayer Money To Be Spent “Decolonizing” British Folk Music
Around £1.5 million (c.$1.9 million) in taxpayer funding has been awarded to an academic research project aimed at “decolonizing” the British folk music tradition.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield will “take an unflinching look at the white-centricity of folk music repertory, performers and audience by conducting fieldwork to shed light on long-standing vernacular singing practices of ethnic minority cultures in England,” according to Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
The project will also aim to “increase accessibility to the folk club scene and take the first step in a process of decolonisation within the folk music canon.”
News of the project was greeted with a mixture of anger and derision. Professor Dennis Hayes, director of the organization Academics for Academic Freedom, told The Telegraph,
“Journalists will be pleased to know that there will be an endless supply of stories about disciplines being told by universities to ‘decolonise’ and of money being spent on studies of ‘whiteness’ in any and every conceivable subject.
“The reason for this is institutional groupthink in universities. Universities have adopted the need for decolonisation, and the victim hierarchy of intersectional theory, as essential to upholding their inclusive values. This groupthink is a threat to academic freedom. It silences almost all opposition as academics fear being charged with racism if they speak up against being told what to think.”
Professor Hayes said that “the only solution is for academics to speak up” and then put in “time-consuming work” in the university bureaucracy to prevent such projects being funded.
He added that academics who speak up would soon discover that “they are not alone.”
Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said that taxpayers are “fed up” with research councils funding these kinds of projects with taxpayer money.
“Time and time again, these institutions force hard-pressed households to pay millions for academics to rewrite history and achieve minute goals in return.”
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Taiwan War Games To Be as Realistic as Possible under Looming Threat of Invasion
Taiwan’s annual war games, which commence next month, will be as realistic as possible, as the threat of a Chinese invasion of the island grows.
A senior Taiwanese official told Reuters that “in recent years, the enemy threat has changed rapidly,” which he said meant urgent changes to military training and preparedness are needed.
“Our defence combat plan must also be continuously revised on a rolling basis, and the urgency of comprehensive combat training is becoming more and more important.”
“Showy” elements of the annual war games, such as rehearsal drills, have been scrapped, and there will be nighttime drills and exercises within the capital Taipei, which doesn’t normally happen.
“It’s not about scoring points,” the official continued.
“We want the soldiers to wonder whether this is for real.”
The drills will also practise establishing “kill zones” at sea to smash a naval blockade in the event that China turns one of its naval drills off the coast of the island into an actual invasion.
China has been carrying our regular exercises in the seas off Taiwan for the last four years. China staged a two-day event last month after the inauguration of Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te. Beijing said the event was “punishment” for his inauguration speech which contained large amounts of “separatist” content.
China continues to consider Taiwan a separatist region and not a sovereign state.
Taiwan’s war games begin on July 22.
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Pandemic Stress Shrank Babies’ Brains
Vital parts of the brain are significantly smaller in babies born to mothers who reported suffering stress during the pandemic, according to a new study.
The left amygdala, which is linked to anxiety risk in adulthood; the right hippocampus, responsible for spatial visual and verbal memories; and the white matter, which provides structural connectivity in the brain, were all reduced in babies whose mothers reported stress. The decrease in volume of the left amygdala was significant.
The research is further clear evidence that the pandemic will have long-lasting developmental effects on children who live through or were born during it.
Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to compare the brains of just over 100 babies born between 2014 and 2019 and nearly 60 babies born during the pandemic, 2020-2022. The babies’ brains were imaged in utero and after delivery.
Their mothers were evaluated for stress using the Spielberger State-Train Anxiety Inventory and other tests.
Before the pandemic, 21% of mothers reported elevated anxiety, whereas 62% of mothers who were pregnant during the pandemic reported elevated symptoms.
These figures corresponded with decreases in brain volume.
The study shows that an entire generation of children born during the pandemic may require extra support because of the negative health consequences of the lockdowns, social restrictions and heightened stress and anxiety.
“Looking ahead, we want to use this information—and studies with similar findings—to empower pregnant mothers to request support to mitigate their stress, especially in the event of another global health crisis,” said Nickie Andescavage, one of the study authors.
“We also want to make sure babies born during COVID-19 get the services that they need in life if they develop anxiety or other mental health disorders.”
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Hawaii Transport Agrees To Take “Any Actions Necessary” To Stop Climate Change as It Settles Lawsuit with Teenagers
Hawaii’s Department of Transport (DoT) has reached a settlement with 13 teenagers who alleged it was violating the state constitution by operating a transportation system that harms the environment and infringes their right to a pollution-free environment.
Under the settlement, the Hawaii DoT will adopt a plan to hit net-zero emissions by 2045 for ground, air and marine transportation. Emissions targets are set for five-year intervals.
The DoT has promised to take “any actions necessary” to meet the emissions targets, including creating a volunteer youth council to advise the department and the establishment of a special unit under the direction of a “Climate Change Mitigation and Culture Manager.”
The settlement agreement also includes a pledge for immediate investment in “clean” transportation. New pedestrian, bicycle and transport networks will need to be completed within five years, and $40 million will be spent to expand the electric-vehicle charging network.
The 13 youths alleged that their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” had been violated after the Hawaiian state legislature declared that “an existential climate emergency threatens humanity and the natural world.”
They were represented in their suit by two non-profit law firms, Earthjustice and Our Children’s Trust.
“We got what we came for, and we got it faster than expected,” said one of the plaintiffs, in a press release.
In a statement commenting on the settlement, director of the DoT Ed Sniffen said, “Climate change is indisputable.”
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Microplastics Discovered in Penises for the First Time
Microplastics have been discovered inside male penis tissue for the first time, according to a new scientific study.
Six men experiencing erectile dysfunction had penis samples taken from them, and five contained microplastics. Seven different kinds of plastic were found.
Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic, usually invisible to the eye, that have been linked to a whole range of health conditions, from gut dysfunction to heart disease and Alzheimer’s. As well as causing physical damage and inflammation, microplastics. They have been found in virtually every human tissue, from lung and gut tissue, to brain tissue.
Microplastics have also been linked to a worldwide fertility decline that could see mankind unable to reproduce by natural means within decades. If sperm counts fall at current rates, by 2045 the median man may produce no sperm at all, meaning one half of all men will be totally infertile and the other half will produce so few sperm that they are functionally so. Microplastics were recently discovered in testicular samples taken as part of a study, and in 100% of semen samples.
MICROPLASTICS DISCOVERED IN 100% OF SEMEN SAMPLES.
A new study has detected microplastics in 100% of semen samples. ? pic.twitter.com/pNqIyNk9pD— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) June 1, 2024
In the case of this new study, the link between erectile dysfunction and the presence of microplastics within the penis is unclear. Studies comparing levels of microplastics in the penises of men with and without erectile dysfunction would be one way to establish a potential link.
It’s also unclear how the microplastics got there in the first place, with the researchers suggesting that they could have infiltrated the subjects’ penises during surgical procedures they had been undergoing to treat their erection problems. Otherwise, the microplastics could simply have arrived in the penis via the blood.
Lead author Ranjith Ramasamy believes further research is urgently needed to identify the reproductive effects of microplastic infiltration of the sex organs.
“We need to identify whether microplastics are linked to ED and if there is a level beyond which it causes pathology and what types of microplastics are pathologic,” he said.
Infowars recently published a detailed primer on microplastics which tells you everything you need to know about microplastics and how to protect yourself against them.
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Climate Change Activists Are Scaring Children With ‘Alarming’ Lessons In Schools
Former Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman has warned that climate change activists are frightening children with ‘alarming’ lessons in schools. (Ofsted is the office for standards in education. It is responsible for inspecting a range of […]
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