Felicity Moore @flipperm

David Attenborough, 100 years old today. What a giant he is, what a force for good.

Roald Dahl on Measles: Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything. 'Are you feeling all right?' I asked her. 'I feel all sleepy,' she said. In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead. The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was...in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her. On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. ...I dedicated two of my books to Olivia, the first was ‘James and the Giant Peach’. That was when she was still alive. The second was ‘The BFG’, dedicated to her memory after she had died from measles. You will see her name at the beginning of each of these books. And I know how happy she would be if only she could know that her death had helped to save a good deal of illness and death among other children.

More shearwaters are washing up dead on Australian beaches. It’s not due to ‘natural’ causes theconversation.com/more-shearwate…

JD Vance is lecturing the Pope on Catholicism and Pierre Poilievre is lecturing Mark Carney on economics and RFK Jr is lecturing scientists about vaccines and Donald Trump is lecturing the world on tariffs and Pete Hegseth is quoting Pulp Fiction and thinking it’s the Bible

Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. #ApostolicJourney #Cameroon vatican.va/content/leo-xi…

Iran, not the US, currently has the strategic upper hand abc.net.au/news/2026-03-1… via @ABCaustralia

@MikeCarlton01 Happy birthday Michael.

Record-Breaking Pokies Losses in NSW: $2.45 Billion in Just 3 Months news.com.au/finance/money/…

@Lindymorrison8 Great story and photo Lindy

Along with the Australia’s Chief Medical Officer and other global medicines regulators and experts, we reject claims regarding the use of paracetamol in pregnancy, and the subsequent risk of development of ADHD or autism in children. Read more: tga.gov.au/news/media-rel…

Hard times claims by pokie clubs are breaking our hearts smh.com.au/politics/nsw/h…

Olympia Valance says schools need to be teaching students more about infertility during sex-education. Find out more about the unmissable fertility conversation Australia needs to have.

⁦@CrownResorts⁩ Sydney doesn’t need 500 cashless pokies to ‘prove the technology works’. It’s 2,500 machines in Melbourne have already done that. What we need is the NSW govt to commit to making ALL pokies in NSW cashless. #PutPokiesInTheirPlace smh.com.au/national/nsw/n…

LAP Dogs..#TrumpisaNationalDisgrace #Vance

Today we have heard some outstanding speeches from NATO ally leaders. However, this one from the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, was the one that spoke to me for sure. I think it’s time to stop pretending to ourselves that the U.S. is anything but an impediment to solving this existential threat, to the welfare and safety of all our citizens. Let me quote Sun Tzu's The Art of War. ‘All warfare is based on deception’ and for sure, Putin has waged a war of deception. He projected the historical power of the mighty Red army in a bid to quickly overrun Ukraine. He attempted to do it with untrained poorly equipped troops, on out of date rations. Putin rolled the dice thinking NATO would not commit troops to help defend Ukraine and he was right. What he didn’t plan for, was the lion spirit of the Ukrainian people and the ingenuity of their military engineers. Their work with drones and sea drones has redefined battlefield strategy. Once allies started providing javelin anti-tank missiles and supporting artillery, the game changed. They prevented the Russians from achieving air superiority? And the Russian Black Sea Fleet had to retreat from port. It is testament to the Ukrainian army and air force, Russia has been held back against all the odds. Let’s be clear, the military has achieved what it has, not because of us, but in-spite of us. We have only given them enough weapons to hold the bear back, not to evict it. There were constant delays, waiting on artillery shells, HIMARS and ATACMS, as well as tanks and F16s. WE HAVE LET THEM DOWN. Yet these brave men and women have innovated and made do, to defend not only their country, but our borders too. WE OWE THEM BIG TIME. Not with words and sympathy, but with the proper tools to get the job done. America has disgracefully walked away and aligned with our enemy. The U.S. president’s pet, Elon Musk along with JD Vance, have meanwhile actively supported far right political parties in Europe. Then Vance had the audacity to turn up and lecture us on our own doorstep. What was our answer? ‘Please don’t hurt us’. This week, we see a slow procession of European leaders making the pilgrimage to the court of Mad King Don for a humiliation session. Pardon my French but ‘f*ck that’, it’s time to stand tall and tell Trump to ‘f*ck right off’ and if it were me. I’d tell him to take his airbases with him too and cancel all military arms contracts. If he wants access to Ukrainian minerals that’s fine. Ukraine HAS NO DEBT with the U.S. They simply have the thanks of a grateful nation. There was no loan agreement. If he wants mineral rights, then provide an arms package as a down payment for future revenues. Leave the deal on the table for a week and if it’s not signed, pull the deal. Then they get nothing and in addition, no bids will be accepted from US companies for the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. Now that’s the art of the deal. As for NATO allies, Trump is walking away regardless, so Europe needs to get its act together NOW. Seize Russian assets and use the funds to fire up the European military industrial base. This will create jobs and growth, while capacity is expanded in all countries with an arms manufacturing capability. In the meantime, we already have the ability, especially if Poland steps up, to defend against any increased Russian aggression. The British military has already said, if it were needed, we would meet that threat head on today. If this collective approach is taken, the Russian army in Ukraine could be crushed just as crushed the Iraqi army in Desert Storm. It’s time to show the Americans their services are no longer required. Then when the war is over, we can look to promote the Euro as the new global reserve currency. No harm in ambition I say. We need to believe in ourselves. It’s time to get the job done and show the world FAFO. There’s only one village idiot in this town and it’s not Zelenskyy. I rest my case.

A tribute to the late, great sporting columnist Mike Colman who has lost his brave, lengthy battle after a typically spirited fight. Mike was truly one of a kind, the last of great larrikin columnists who could make readers laugh or cry in the same week. couriermail.com.au/sport/farewell…

New international analysis of nearly 25 million patients younger than 50, across 81 studies, found the most common presenting signs and symptoms of early-onset bowel cancer were blood in the stool, abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, and unexplained weight loss.   Nearly half of individuals (45%) presented with blood in the stool, 40% presented with abdominal pain, and more than one-quarter (27%) presented with altered bowel habits, which included constipation, diarrhoea, or alternating bowel habits. The study reviewed 81 articles from 1985 to May 2023.   Blood in the stool and abdominal pain were associated with a 5 to 54-fold and 1.3 to 6-fold increased likelihood of early-onset bowel cancer, respectively.   Bowel Cancer Australia Medical Director, A/Prof Graham Newstead AM said, “In Australia, the risk of diagnosis with bowel cancer before age 40 has more than doubled since 2000 and knowing the symptoms is only part of the solution.”   “This latest study sends a clear message to GPs and younger people of the need to have a high suspicion of red flag signs and symptoms and to work together to ensure prompt access to colonoscopy to rule out early-onset bowel cancer as an underlying cause or to improve outcomes.”     The analysis also found that delays were up to 40% longer for younger individuals compared to older individuals with bowel cancer, which may contribute to a greater proportion of late-stage diagnosis and increasing mortality rates. #Never2Young #BowelCancerAustralia #BowelCancerAwarenessMonth

The country's largest rail freight operator is calling for a national summit to address safety concerns at tens of thousands of level crossings. It follows the tragic deaths of two Pacific National train drivers in an accident on New Year's Eve. @eddy_meyer #9News

Recently, I received this drawing from mum Rachel. It was drawn by her son, who is in year 2, for a school project to create an ad on any subject. Australia, we have a problem. Ban gambling advertising. Full stop.

This is a really important piece from @CroweDM - about the legacy of Labor MP Peta Murphy, who died far too young - and her mission to ban gambling advertising, with all the damage it does. "She listened to others. Will federal cabinet listen to her?" smh.com.au/national/murph…