The Royal Society of Queensland

Joseph Stiglitz's new book discusses what kind of an economic, political, and social system enhances the freedoms of most citizens. Challenging neoliberal, he discusses alternative forms of capitalism, and trade-offs. #Economics #Politics #SocialSystems #Stiglitz #neoliberalism #freedom #democray #wealthyinequality #inequality #Orwellian #authoritarianism #CCP #Russia #fascism

Impressive 6GW interconnector linking North America and Western Europe with undersea cables. This Interconnector (NATO-L) supports western democracies electrification of the transportation and the heating sector with green, reliable and secure new sources of carbon free electricity. The NATO-L is built on mutual trust. It links two big load centres and brings benefits to both sides, while reinforcing the two grids. East – West interconnectors are of a particular value - they harness the rotation of the Earth around the Sun. The renewable resources like wind and solar on each side of the ocean are not correlated, allowing the link to become a virtual 24/7 baseload carbon-free corridor. Solar in Europe can power North America’s breakfast and five hours later reverse flow to power Europe’s evening demand peak. #NATO #Interconnector #democracies #Renewable #Solar #Europe #America #Carbon

The Queensland Government is calling for submissions on the draft strategy for cancer services by 5 July: https://lnkd.in/gzy7kg2a. My submission to Queensland Health is below. INTRODUCTION Upper gastrointestinal cancer identification and survival rates in Queensland are low compared to most other forms of cancer. (See https://lnkd.in/gWJS9k7Q) There appears room for improvement in the provision of dental care as both a preventative and identification measure. UNIVERSAL COVERAGE AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Universally funded six monthly dental checks and cleans could identify a lot of health issues before they became serious. Using qualified oral hygienists rather than dentists would make the scheme more affordable. Any required fillings identified by the oral hygienist could be performed by a dentist under a tendering system to reduce cost. To provide individuals with the incentive to seek the lowest cost option, individuals undergoing treatment pay a percentage of the treatment cost based on their level of social benefits, and senior or healthcare cards. FUNDING The system could be partially funded by the current subsidy that the federal government gives to private health insurance companies for dental care cover. The current system of subsidies in private insurance for dental treatment appears regressive and provides tax breaks for the wealthiest in society who are more able to afford their dental treatment. The current tax-break diverts tax funds from the least wealth to the wealthiest. IMPLEMENTATION Copying and modifying the current breast or colon cancer screening programs on MyGov would provide a cheaper and quicker way to implement a system for the proposed universally funded six monthly dental checks and cleans. The tendering system for the recommended follow up dental services could extend existing systems like ServiceSeeking.com.au with the existing coding system for dental services. RESEARCH The link between heart disease and oral health appears well established. There appears a requirement for more research on the link between oral health and other health outcomes, including different forms of cancer and dementia and other forms of mental ill-health. #Queensland #Health #cancer #Australia #strategy #universalcoverage #personalresponsibility #funding #implementation #research #dementia #mentalhealth #oralhealth #oralhygiene #dental #gastrointestinal

This video discusses several PRC food processing innovations that most Australians would find unacceptable. Concerningly, Australia's inadequate food labelling “made from imported ingredients” rather than specifying country of origin “made in PRC” prevents Australians from making an informed choice between eating cheaper products from the PRC and a longer lifespan. If the PRC's food processing industry is indictive of its civil society, all products from the PRC should be clearly labelled “made in PRC”. For instance, this report from The New York Times discusses how substandard titanium from the PRC with falsified documentation has been incorporated into the global supply chain, leading to numerous component failures in Boeing and Airbus jets.  https://lnkd.in/gPxhJ3sq Additionally, labelling products as "made in China" is insufficient because products "made in PRC" and "made in ROC" (Republic of China) go through different company quality control systems and government regulatory and enforcement regimes. Furthermore, PRC and ROC citizens have a different sense of civil society and levels of regulatory compliance. Labelling items as either "made in PRC" or "made in ROC" rather than "made in China" would reflect these differences and enable consumers to make an informed choice. #PRC #innovation #madeinprc #toxic #CCP #corruption #health #safety #choice #freedom #lifespan #gutteroil #coppersulphate #foodprocessing #foodpoisoning #ROC #civilsociety #quality #qualitycontrol #madeinroc #madeinchina #compilance #civicresponsibility #government #regulation #enforcement #dumplings #buns #crayfish #apples #rice

Given the corruption in the PRC, would you trust your life on CCP enforced safety standards? Without knowing, you may have done so and put your life at risk if you have flown on a Boeing or Airbus Aircraft. This report from The New York Times discusses how substandard titanium from the PRC with falsified documentation has been incorporated into the global supply chain, leading to numerous component failures in Boeing and Airbus jets. Both companies are removing the components made from the PRC quality titanium. Relatedly, CCP food standards enforcement has allowed numerous major food safety scandals within the PRC and a breeding ground for the Wuhan virus and ensuing global pandemic. Based on this information avoiding eating food or ingredients from the PRC would make sense. However, have you noticed that on most products, the country-of-origin labelling has been replaced with “made from imported ingredients”? Opaque country labelling prevents consumers from selecting lower health risk food and air transport options. Worryingly, the CCP's corruption and its inability or unwillingness to enforce safety standards is contaminating the world's opaque supply chain and fermenting a global race-to-the-bottom in cost and safety. How can companies from democratic countries with more highly enforced safety standards and without slave labour compete? In conclusion, decoupling trade with the PRC would address this competition issue and improve world safety, derisk our health, and stop subsidising the CCP's genocides and territorial expansionism. Or, at the very least clearly label items with country of origin, so people can make an informed choice. #CCP #corruption #foodsafety #PRC #titanium #sabotage #pandemic #Wuhan #COVID #Wuhan #bats #biologicalwarfare #supplychain #democracy #authoritarianism #slavelabour #slavery #derisking #decoupling #trade #countryoforigin #choice #risk #health #trade #genocide

An interesting industrial policy announcement by the Australian Government, they have joined our allies to tackle four of the most pressing global issues, including climate change, totalitarianism, population ageing, and inclusive economic growth. This policy includes derisking trade with Xi Jinping's totalitarian regime through direct government investments, tax breaks, and other incentives aimed at protecting strategically vital industries. Similar initiatives that our allies are pursuing include the USA's "Inflation Reduction Act" and "CHIPS Act," the European Union's "European Economic Security Strategy," Japan's "Economic Security Promotion Act," and South Korea's "National Security Strategy." There is a valid economic argument that in the short term these policies will be pricier than trading with Xi's regime. However, such arguments ignore the fact that every trade with Xi's regime supports his: occupation of the South China Sea; genocide and other human right's abuses; plans to destroy China's democratically elected government; political leverage over smaller countries to reinforce his Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI provides a self-reinforcing network effect, like the British Empire, but with Xi Jinping's values. So, the long-term socioeconomic costs of trading with Xi's regime would be much higher. Trade without Xi? The WTO was well intended in facilitating world trade and appeared to function for a while, but there was the underlying assumption that "there is no alternative" (TINA) to democracy AND capitalism. Whenever a country adopted capitalism, it would naturally transition into a democracy. There was some progress in this direction until Xi and Putin reversed any progress and initiated aggressive territorial expansion. Given trade and security are linked, what could replace the WTO or how could the WTO morph in facilitating trade in this unstable security environment created by Xi and Putin's expansionism? An alternative to morphing the WTO is forming a congruent trade block and military alliance among democracies. Trade blocks containing only democratic countries, sharing similar ethical and legal foundations, would be much more durable than trade with totalitarian regimes. Such a trade block could reduce the cost of the energy transition, contain the growing threat from the totalitarian regimes, and help the countries with totalitarian regimes undergo an internal restructure. Read more about this exciting development here: https://lnkd.in/g8sDZgA4 #AustralianGovernment #climatechange #Dictator #XiJinping #Xi #CCP #genocide #totalitarianism #populationageing #InclusiveEconomicGrowth #USA #Japan #SouthKorea #SouthChinaSea #BeltAndRoadInitiative #TINA #abc #abcnews #Albanese #WTO #energytransition #Australian #Government #industrialpolicy #USA #InflationReductionAct #CHIPSAct #EuropeanUnion #EU #EuropeanEconomicSecurityStrategy #Japan #EconomicSecurityPromotionAct #SouthKorea #NationalSecurityStrategy