DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS
When the Duck-billed platypus was first encountered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to Great Britain by Captain John Hunter, the second Governor of New South …
CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES
I reported on the Confucius Institutes some time ago but, given their potential, and most-likely planned, influence and propaganda directives from the Chinese Communist Party, …
MALAMA
The roots of malama run deep. Hawaii is the most isolated archipelago on Earth, a volcanic cluster of eight main islands, marooned 2,390 miles south-west of …
ELEPHANTS HATE BEES
Did you know that elephants hate bees? Around the world, spreading farmland is increasingly overlapping with elephant habitats, often resulting in dangerous interactions, as …
TULIPS
Few images are as indelible as the sight of new tulips bursting through the dark winter ground. In the Netherlands – the world’s largest exporter …
TEXTILE WASTE
The level of textile waste in the world is truly staggering; 85% of the 100 billion items of apparel produced by the textile industry EACH …
SPRINGY POLES AND FOREHEAD STRAPS
Springy poles and forehead straps: How to carry more than your own bodyweight. The rural farm workers of Vietnam could be seen as almost …
RUSSIAN AND CHINESE MARINE SABOTAGE
Russian and Chinese marine sabotage has reached new heights in the Baltic, as well as in the South China Sea. The difference is that, in …
ICE-AGE ANTELOPE
Ice-age antelopes have surged back from extinction in Kazakhstan. That sounds a little like a “Jurassic Park” story, but it is real and has resulted …
BRAIN DRAIN
The phrase “Brain Drain” usually refers to the migration of the intellectual elite of one place to another place. This is often driven by deteriorating …