A history of COVID-19 and the neuroscience of religion.

On this year's edition of our holiday science question show, we've got answers for your burning science questions like why did Bob's voice change so much? Does more C02 help trees grow? Do insects and reptiles play? And more...

Plus: Neanderthal hunt giant elephants; rubble pile asteroid threat and how particle physics helped us understand what was the matter.

Orca sons inhibit mom’s future offspring and more detail on how the first people got to the Americas

A sandwich inspired water filter and 19 ways of looking at consciousness.

The evolutionary biology of friendship and how digital tech has shaped our fundamental sense of togetherness.

The pandemic has driven consumers online for everything from groceries to outdoor heaters. But e-commerce experts caution that online sellers are netting not just revenue, but a treasure trove of personal data, too.

Today on Q with Tom Power: cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and writer Monica Heisey

Hey folks,

I posed this question last night on Here & Now... Do you think this past weekend storm was Sheila's Brush? I know, I know, it's only March 9th... but here are a few facts for you.

1) Sheila's Brush is of course the big Winter Storm that hits Eastern Newfoundland every year around St. Patrick's Day. The Storm is usually considered that last big one of the Winter.

2) St. Patrick's Day is next just around the corner... next Wednesday the 17th.

3) This has been a CRAZY winter with a lack of Snow and Warm temperatures.

PAST 5 YEARS

Here's a look at the Past 5 Years and when Sheila's Brush moved in.

2009- March 21st. 28 cm in St. John's and Gander had 24 cm.

2008- March 17-19th. St. John's had 58 cm of Snow! Gander had 57 cm of Snow. Gander also got hit just days before 64 cm of Snow on the 13th and 14th... so it was a double whammy.

2007- March 29th-30th. Gander gets 20 cm while St. John's only gets less than 5. However St. John's had 14 cm just a few days earlier. You have to go all the way back to Feb 23-24th to find a Big Snowfall for St. John's in the weird year of 07.

2006- March 27-29th. St. John's sees 32 cm of Snow. Gander lands 27 cm.

2005- March 30-31st. St. John's gets 18 cm of Snow and 60 mm of Rain. Gander gets 63 cm!!!

So there's no doubt the numbers show, this past weekend storm was WAY too early to be Sheila. But again you never know. This winter has been one of the warmest we've seen in decades... it will be really interesting to see how it all plays out. Especially considering we do appear to have something brewing for early next week.

NEXT WEEK SYSTEM

A quick update on our potential (Sheila) system for early next week.

-The Canadian model is still bringing the system in on late Sunday and into Monday. It's taking the centre of the system waaayyy to the West and wrapping nothing but warm air and rain into Newfoundland and even Southeastern Labrador.
-The American model continues to do the cha cha cha. It was showing a miss early yesterday, then it brought it back West... now it's somewhere in between. Still with the Tuesday idea.
-The European is thinking Tuesday as well and has an interesting track... just East of the Island.

Again, I'll keep you updated.

Ryan

As protests spread across China, citizens consider how far they can push Beijing; concerns of privatized healthcare as a virtual pediatric care service shuts down because of reduced government funding; meet Jeremy Brown, one of the real-life Cornish fishermen who inspired the musical Fisherman's Friends; Dr. Nasser Mohamed, an exiled gay physician from Qatar, campaigns for LGBTQ rights; Canadian super-Swifties throw celebratory Taylor Swift dance parties; and more.

Facebook faces a $2 billion lawsuit over hate speech; Expanse co-author Ty Franck on the role of nuclear fusion in sci-fi universes and the real world; making sense of the connection between respiratory virus outbreaks and invasive Strep A bacterial infections; a theatre director's bid to bring British holiday 'pantos' to Canada; Israeli documentary Tantura confronts an alleged massacre in a Palestinian village; and more.

Celebrated Turkish writer Ahmet Altan was freed on April 14, 2021, after international pressure helped secure his release. He’d spent four years and seven months in prison. This episode by IDEAS producer Mary Lynk won an Amnesty International Canada Media Award for outstanding human rights reporting.

The way dogs are portrayed in literature reflects the problems in our real-world relationships to canines, says PhD student Molly Labenski, who says people want animals in their lives as “accessories” that can be easily discarded.

In 2015, the poet-musician Grzegorz Kwiatkowski made a strange discovery at the site of the former Stutthof concentration camp in Poland — something he calls 'a carpet of abandoned shoes.' But these were more than shoes: they're both artifacts and symbols of the Holocaust — as well as a flashpoint of nationalist denialism and historical amnesia.

Happy New Year. Please check out all the new shows and their websites:

18 to Life

Republic of Doyle

Death Comes to Town - Kids in the Hall

It all began with a doctorate, a skiing accident and a bit of ingenuity.

Without permission to use sandwich boards to attract business, the Irish had to get resourceful.

In just 15 minutes, Ed Robertson wrote the theme song to one of the most successful sitcoms of the 21st century – and how that collaboration came to be happened just as fast.

[Written by Stephen Wright] Boxer Nikki Bascome will face American Rashad Kilpatrick in the co-main event at The Shed in Dockyard on March 30. Kilpatrick, who has lost two of his nine professional contests, defeated Juan de la Cruz Rodriguez [11-22-1], of El Salvador, by unanimous decision in Baltimore in September last year in his […]

As hybrid work becomes more common, some companies are turning toward surveillance systems — such as software that can track a user's keyboard activity, or programs that share photos from a user's webcam — to keep track of off-site employees.

The jazz great evokes this music’s golden era on a new set of live songs.

The Swedes’ fourth LP is something else, but something profoundly exhilarating.

The young rapper’s promise grows with this new, recommended mixtape.

Virginia rapper successfully expands his skill set on this lean mixtape.

A missed opportunity which leaves the listener wanting better.

A soundtrack which takes East-West collaborations to another level.

The trio’s soundtrack for this 3D blockbuster falls between pastiche and progress.

Album four from the popular group packs a colourful hit of emotion and vocal exuberance.

Trivendi stands on the verge of big success.

This college campus soundtrack barely scrapes a passing grade.

A superlative collection that touches on funk, gospel and disco.

The LA singer’s voice remains an undeniably rich and powerful instrument.

In a sign of improved confidence in the manufacturing sector, the latest data on personal guarantee backed business loans to smaller manufacturers shows a dramatic rise in applications for finance in Q3 2024.

As retailers accelerate into the ‘golden quarter’ new YouGov research finds nearly half of consumers (48%) that buy Christmas gifts say they are not influenced by Black Friday, Cyber Monday or any other last-minute deals.

Shipster, a custom shipping integration platform, and Futura Retail Solutions, an advanced retail and warehouse management software, have announced a strategic partnership to target growing omni-channel retail markets.

Numerous new developments in CONTACT’s Elements platform and innovative digitalisation strategies will take centre stage at this year’s Open World.

Online retailers saw a significant increase in online Halloween sales, bolstered by the event (31 Oct) falling during school half-term as well as coinciding with Diwali, according to data from Wunderkind, the AI-driven performance marketing solution.

President Bush declared on Saturday that the "bitter differences" between the U.S. and Europe were over, and that NATO had a responsibility to help Iraqis with their own security.

A surprising number of swing voters may be listening to Howard Stern on their way to church.

 Donald Trump promises to sign an Executive Order on day one of his new term abolishing Birthright Citizenship. This will trigger litigation thar promises to land in Trump's Supreme Court for final adjudication, Assuming Trump prevails there, the GOP already introduced a Bill to abolish Birthright Citizenship legislatively. JD Vance co-sponsored that Bill. This amounts to an historically unprecedented assault on virtually every American's Citizenship. 

Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify that no child is eligible for birthright citizenship if their parents are unlawfully present in the United States, present in the U.S. for diplomatic purposes, or engaged in a hostile operation against the U.S.

Notably, the Act proposed by Vance includes no limitation on this "clarification" of who enjoys citizenship and who does not. The Act includes no limitation on retroactive effect and lacks any express limitation providing for prospective impact only. The Constitution only proscribes retroactive criminal sanctions The intent of the Act is to correct errors in prior interpretations of the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

More broadly, the GOP assault on virtually everyone's citizenship seeks to maximize the power of the next Trump Administration to round-up citizens, as discussed in my prior blog post. As such, this amounts to the greatest power-grab of rights over American citizens in history.

 

 

No President nor nominee in US history so openly and brazenly pursued a fascist dictatorship like Donald Trump does today. In fact, many of Trump's own handpicked senior advisers from his first term as President issue urgent warnings today about Trump's drive to dictatorship. For example:

1)    TRUMP'S LONGEST SERVING CHIEF OF STAFF MARINE GENERAL JOHN KELLY

John Kelly enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1970, and was discharged as a sergeant in 1972. Following college graduation in 1976, he returned to the Marines as an infantry officer. Kelly rose to Brigadier General and served in Iraq for the better part of 2 years. Kelly deployed again to Iraq in 2008 after promotion to Major General. Ultimately, in his last military post, from 2012 to 2016 he served as a four-star general leading the United States Southern Command, the unified combatant command responsible for American military operations in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

President Trump appointed Kelly the Secretary of Homeland Security in 2017. Trump promoted Kelly to Chief of Staff on July 31, 2017. At the time, Trump called Kelly a "great American" who has "done a spectacular job at Homeland Security" and "been a true star of my administration."

The New York Times published an interview with Kelly, on Oct. 22, 2024, available here. According to General Kelly: “Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist. . . . He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.” Further, the General said that "a very big surprise for him was that we were — those of us who were former generals and certainly people still on active duty — that the commitment, the loyalty was to the Constitution, without question, without second thought. That was a big surprise to him that the generals were not loyal to the boss, in this case him.” Trump apparently failed middle school history.

2)      TRUMP'S HANDPICKED CHAIR OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF MARK MILLEY

Four star General Mark Milley became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on September 30, 2019, and served as the nation's highest ranking military officer for four years until September of 2023.  Milley first became a commissioned officer in 1980 after graduating from Princeton University. As chairman, General Milley acted as the principal military advisor to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.

When Milley took his oath as Chair, Donald Trump said of his appointee: "In his new role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley will serve as my top military advisor. I have absolute confidence that he will fulfill his duty with the same brilliance and fortitude he has shown throughout his long and very distinguished career."

Today the retired General says of Trump: “He is the most dangerous person ever. [N]ow I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country, a fascist to the core.” In his retirement speech Milley stated: "“We don’t take an oath to a king, or queen, or tyrant or a dictator, and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

3)    13 FORMER TRUMP OFFICIALS IN SUPPORT OF THE GENERALS

In the wake of comments from General Kelly (and fully consistent with the comments of General Milley), 13 Trump appointees wrote a letter of support stating:

Donald Trump's disdain for the American military and admiration for dictators like Hitler is rooted in his desire for absolute, unchecked power. This is a man who threw his own Vice President – Mike Pence – at a violent mob in a desperate bid to hold on to power. When Donald Trump says he wants to be a "dictator" on "day one" and deploy the military against American citizens he deems “the enemy from within"--he means it. . . . We did not take the decision to come forward lightly. We are all lifelong Republicans who served our country. However, there are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. This is one of those moments.

All of these Trump Administration appointees, including many serving in senior positions, worked day-to-day with Trump and witnessed first hand how he governs and how he seeks to accumulate dictatorial powers.

4)     FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES MATTIS

Four star Marine General James Mattis served as Trump's first handpicked Secretary of Defense, from Trump's inauguration through early 2019. Mattis previously served as a Marine officer starting in 1971, and saw combat in Operation Dessert Storm, Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

General Mattis posits that Donald Trump is unfit because he places himself above the Constitution. More specifically, Mattis issued a statement after the J6 insurrection that said:

Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice. Our Constitution and our Republic will overcome this stain and We the People will come together again in our never-ending effort to form a more perfect Union, while Mr. Trump will deservedly be left a man without a country.

Mattis previously levelled serious objections to Trump's fitness as President due to his misconduct in the summer of 2020, in the wake of protests triggered by the police murder of George Floyd. He stated:

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. 

5)    FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MARK ESPER 

After graduating from West Point, Mark Esper joined the United States Army and served during the 1990-91 Gulf War as an officer with the 101st Airborne Division. Former President Trump appointed him as the Secretary of Defense and he assumed office on July 19, 2019.

When asked about the former Generals assertions that Trump seeks to impose a dictatorship Esper stated: "It's hard to say that he doesn't. . . .he certainly has those inclinations. And I think it's something we should be wary about." Esper suggests voters look up the term "fascism" and determine on their own if Trump fits the bill. He also praised the Generals for raising the issue and gave them high marks for integrity and honesty.

The Esper interview with CNN is available here.

6)   FORMER VICE PRESIDENT PENCE

In an extraordinary development, Vice President Mike Pence refuses to endorse Donald Trump for President in election 2024. Pence stated that Trump should never sit in the Oval Office again because Trump put himself and his hold on power above the Constitution. The video above explains his position best.

CONCLUSION

The 18 patriots quoted above all say in unison that Donald Trump cannot rule our country again because he cannot adhere to the Constitution. Instead he will seek extra-Constitutional power and try to rule as a dictator. Trump himself promises to rule as a dictator on Day 1. These warnings come from life-long conservatives and from Trump's hand picked officials at the most senior levels of the Trump Administration. They saw Trump at work in the Oval Office daily--they know much more than us. They risk their lives and the lives of their family. We must heed these unprecedented warnings and take Trump at his word. The Constitution today demands that we all follow the distinguished leaders above and act courageously to protect our Great Constitutional Republic. History will judge us on this most important issue. We must not elect a dictator who promises to "terminate" the Constitution for power.

OFTEN the only girl on the rugby league and union fields, Picton 10-year-old Caitlyn Halse had to put up with her fair share of discrimination in her early playing years.

The Sydney South West Zone Little Athletics Championships showed the best the area has to offer in junior competition over the weekend.

KEEN lawn bowlers will be able to enjoy the game they love at Ingleburn Bowling and Recreation Club without feeling the heat this summer.

The popular new sport FootGolf borrows from two of Australia’s favourite games to create an entirely new challenge.

STUNNER Tasha Ross can add another title to her impressive list of beauty awards, after making the finals of Miss World Australia.

JOSHUA Atkinson definitely has his running shoes on and he pretty much only stops to pick up some of the numerous awards he’s bagged this past year.