Glass Wings Blog

The Glass Wings mailing list and blog is for general idle chit-chat about things we find interesting, especially humor, animation or other subjects relevant to the Glass Wings web site at glasswings.com.au. Subscribe at https://glasswings.com.au/subscribe.html

Diphtheria outbreak: residents of remote NT community say health clinic has no hand sanitiser

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 19:08:41 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/04/diphtheria-outbreak-nt-aboriginal-community-health-clinic-ntwnfb>

"A remote Aboriginal community at the centre of the Northern Territory’s
diphtheria outbreak is struggling to cope with rising case numbers, with locals
saying there is no hand sanitiser at the health clinic and limited information

What we still get wrong about how people from non‑Western backgrounds recover from trauma

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 19:06:55 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/what-we-still-get-wrong-about-how-people-from-non-western-backgrounds-recover-from-trauma-279106>

"Over the past few decades, researchers have developed effective treatments for
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychiatric disorder some people
develop after experiencing trauma. These treatments often involve talking

Electrifying: EV sales are multiplying as fossil fuels lose control of Australia’s car market

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 19:06:06 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://thedriven.io/2026/06/04/electrifying-ev-sales-are-multiplying-as-fossil-fuels-lose-control-of-australias-car-market/>

"Australia’s latest VFACTS and EVC data confirms what we’ve been charting all
year: EV sales are multiplying, ICE is slowly losing control of the market, and
the power EV dealers are supplying is genuinely electrifying.

Chatbot teddies for three‑year‑olds? Why AI toys are risky for kids

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 19:05:22 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/chatbot-teddies-for-three-year-olds-why-ai-toys-are-risky-for-kids-284195>

"ChattyBear, a soft, brown-furred teddy bear, begins every conversation with a
jubilant, “Hello, my buddy!”

Debris with telemetry: the cyber pathway to Kessler

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 19:04:38 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

https://www.thespacereview.com/article/5234/1

"It is a Tuesday morning in the late 2020s. At a satellite operations center on
the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, a duty controller is halfway through
a coffee when the first telemetry anomaly arrives. A spacecraft in the

Economists Just “Proved” UBI Can’t Stop AI Layoffs — Here’s What They Actually Proved

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 19:02:52 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://briefing.forwardfuture.ai/p/economists-just-proved-ubi-can-t-stop-ai-layoffs-here-s-what-they-actually-proved>

"There's a new paper making the rounds called The AI Layoff Trap, by Brett
Hemenway Falk and Gerry Tsoukalas, and it arrives with a headline that's catnip
for anyone looking to wave off basic income. Among the policies that can't

Climate change may shift hailstorms towards Earth’s poles – new study

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 11:14:22 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/climate-change-may-shift-hailstorms-towards-earths-poles-new-study-284292>

"Everyone has a storm story – whether it’s that time you just escaped a
downpour, or the hailstorm that wrote off your car. Even though hailstorms are
relatively rare, they cause significant damages. Two new studies shed light on

AI and a world without migrants

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 11:13:17 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/27/unnecessariat/#rubbuts-stole-my-jerb

"I don't care who you are, there will always be times when hell is other
people. Not because other people are horrible – quite the opposite! Other
people are wonderful, but boy are they ever stubborn.

‘An equal and habitable world is possible’: academics set out sweeping vision for planetary survival

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 11:08:09 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/04/world-inequality-lab-equality-academics-planetary-survival>

"Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating
within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival.

Japan sees shortage of plastic bags, trays and gloves, as Iran war-induced naphtha shortage worsens

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 11:06:35 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/04/japan-naphtha-shortage-plastic-bag>

"Takeaways, supermarkets, and bakeries in Japan are running out of plastic
bags, trays and food service gloves amid widening shortages of the key plastic
ingredient, naphtha, due to the Middle East crisis.