WWIII
South Korea's Yoon says alliance with U.S. is now 'nuclear-based'

By Thomas Maresca


South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the U.S.-South Korea alliance has been upgraded to a "nuclear-based" one in the wake of new joint guidelines. Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, July 16 (UPI) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the alliance with the United States has been raised to a "nuclear-based" one capable of warding off threats from North Korea in the wake of new joint deterrence guidelines.

Last week, Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the nuclear deterrence guidelines on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.

"The South Korea-U.S. alliance has been firmly upgraded to a nuclear-based alliance in name and reality," Yoon said during a cabinet meeting.

"Whether in wartime or peacetime, U.S. nuclear assets are specially assigned to missions on the Korean Peninsula," he said. "Now we have established a posture that can respond quickly and effectively to any kind of North Korean nuclear threat."

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Washington has worked to reassure Seoul that its nuclear umbrella will be sufficient to protect South Korea. The allies have held expanded joint military drills and simulated "table-top" exercises while U.S. assets such as aircraft carriers, a B-52 nuclear bomber and a nuclear ballistic missile submarine are regularly deployed to the peninsula.

The new guidelines follow up on last year's creation of a joint Nuclear Consultative Group to bolster bilateral planning and responses to North Korean aggression.

Over the weekend, North Korea condemned the adoption of the guidelines, calling it a "reckless provocative act" that is the "root cause of endangering the regional security."

"We seriously warn the hostile states not to commit such provocative acts causing instability anymore," a Defense Ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by official media.

"If they ignore this warning, they will have to pay an unimaginably harsh price for it," the spokesman said.

South Korea's military responded Sunday by calling the North's statement "self-contradictory" and warned that any attempt to use nuclear weapons would bring about the end of its regime.

"If there had been no nuclear threat from North Korea in the first place, the South Korea-U.S. joint guidelines would not have been necessary," Seoul's Defense Ministry said in a message sent to reporters.

"If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, the overwhelming response of the South Korea-U.S. alliance will bring about the end of the North Korean regime," it said.

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill barring schools from outing LGBTQ students to parents

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday protecting LGBTQ youth from being outed to their parents by schools. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

July 16 (UPI) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation making California the first U.S. state to prohibit schools from outing transgender students to their parents.

The Democratic governor signed Assembly Bill 1955, better known as the SAFETY Act, Monday, according to a statement from his office, after the legislation passed through the state's Congress last month.

Under the bill, California school districts are barred from disclosing information concerning any student's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression to any other person, including the student's family, without their consent.

It also prevents retaliation against teachers who support their students' rights.

State Assemblymember Chris Ward, a Democrat, introduced the bill in May, stating it was in response to school districts passing policies forcing teachers to notify parents if their children identify as transgender. He said these policies put those students at risk.

"Politically motivated attacks on the rights, safety and dignity of transgender, nonbinary and other LGBTQ+ youth are on the rise nationwide, including in California," Ward said in a statement.

"While some school districts have adopted policies to forcibly out students, the SAFETY Act ensures that discussions about gender identity remain a private matter within the family."

According to Ward's office, more than a dozen school boards last year either proposed or implement policies requiring teachers to inform parents if their children identified as transgender or asked to be called by a different name or pronouns.

A 2023 report by the Human Rights Campaign concerning youth transgender and gender-identity stated that nearly 60% of LGBTQ+ youth reported a least one negative or rejecting experience by parents and family, with 45% stating they were made to feel bad by their parents of family for being LGBTQ+.

Meanwhile, The Trevor Project's 2023 national survey on the mental health of LGBTQ youth found that 41% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, with transgender, nonbinary and people of color reporting higher rates than their peers.

It also said fewer than 40% found their home to be LGBTQ-affirming.

While proponents of the bill argued that it protects LGBTQ students and was potentially life saving, opponents said it undermines parental rights.

The conservative Center for American Liberty legal organization lambasted the legislation Monday as "an outrageous attempt to keep parents in the dark" while reiterating the conspiracy theory that schools were indoctrinating children in "radical gender ideology."

"In school districts across California, parents fought back against parental secrecy policies by running for school boards and passing policies that ensure parents are informed about their kids' education and wellbeing," Harmeet Dhillon, the founder and CEO of the Center for American Liberty, said in a statement.

"It's crucial that we uphold local voices and the integrity of the democratic process in shaping the education of our children."

On the other side of the political spectrum, LGBTQ and transgender advocates welcomed Monday's signing.

"This essential legislation safeguards against policies that forcibly out students, offers vital resources for families, and protects educators who foster inclusive environments," Trans Family Support Services Executive Director Kathie Moehlig said in a statement.

"By preventing undue interventions in personal family matters, the SAFETY Act ensures private and consensual discussions between students and their parents. This bill is a crucial step toward making all California students feel safe and supported at school."

Oregon governor declares state of emergency over wildfire threat

By Darryl Coote

The Cow Vally Fire, which ignited Thursday about 9 miles east of Ironside, Ore., has consumed more than 132,500 acres, officials said. Photo courtesy of Oregon State Fire Marshal/Release

July 16 (UPI) -- Gov. Tina Kotek has declared a state of emergency over the threat caused by wildfires burning tens of thousands of acres throughout Oregon.

At least eight wildfires were burning in the northwestern state early Tuesday, according to state fire officials.

The largest is the Cow Vally Fire, which ignited Thursday about 9 miles east of Ironside, Ore.

It has consumed more than 132,500 acres with officials stating it was only 5% contained.

"Firefighters are working around the clock to suppress the Cow Valley Fire," fire officials said in a statement.

Though its cause was under investigation, officials believe it was caused by humans.

Kotek on Friday invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act over the Cow Valley Fire, and on Monday she declared a State of Emergency, retroactive to Saturday and that will run until Oct. 1, the end of the fire season in the fall.

"Wildfires are active across Oregon and are growing at a concerning pace. Hot and windy conditions this weekend, including forecasted lightning in some areas, are threatening even larger wildfires," she said Monday in a statement.

"Throughout the summer, it will inevitably get hotter and drier, presenting an even greater risk of catastrophic wildfires. The best way to limit wildfire impacts on our communities, natural areas and first responders is to be aware of the conditions and prevent wildfires from starting."


Her office said the declaration was made after determining Oregon was in critical fire danger, threatening life, safety and property due to extreme high temperatures.

Out-of-state firefighters and equipment have been brought into the state to aid in the response, the Oregon State Fire Marshal and the Oregon Department of Forestry said in a statement.

Seventy-one resources are being sent to Oregon from Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, as well as the western Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Ukon and Northwest Territories.

Japan's Supreme Court ruling hits Unification Church donations

By Michael Marshall


Han Hak-Ja, wife of late Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon dedicate flower for late Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon during the commemorating 6th anniversary of the ascension of Rev. Sun Myung Moon before the Blessing Ceremony of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, South Korea, on August 27, 2018. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

July 16 (UPI) -- Two years after the assassination of former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, the legal fallout from his shooting continues.

Tetsuma Yamagami, indicted for Abe's murder, has claimed he acted because Abe had supported some activities of the Unification Church of Japan to which his now deceased mother had donated large sums of money, leaving her family in poverty.

Last week, Japan's Supreme Court reversed a Tokyo High Court ruling in another case about donations to the Unification Church of Japan, now officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

The case was brought by the family of a woman who had also donated more than $618,000 to the Unification Church of Japan between 2005 and 2010. The family is seeking a refund and damages from the church of $402,000.

The lower court dismissed the suit on the basis of a document signed by the woman in November 2015 declaring she made the donation of her own free will and would never seek a refund.

The woman was 86 years old at the time. Around six months later she was diagnosed with dementia and died in 2021.

The Supreme Court ruled that the lower court erred in relying solely on the document. It directed the court to examine the circumstances in which the document was signed including the woman's age, mental state, and whether she was under psychological pressure from the church.

If the lower court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, it is likely to trigger a number of similar cases.

A separate lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court is seeking to remove the Unification Church of Japan's religious status for its aggressive fundraising practices. A victory for the government would end the church's tax exempt status.

Report: LGBTQ+ protections improved greatly under Biden compared to Trump


Thousands of "All Black Lives Matter" demonstrators march to West Hollywood to denounce racial injustice and support LGBTQ rights in the summer of 2020. The Human Rights Campaign on Friday released a report that detailed the "stark contrast" in federal LGBTQ+ protections under President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

July 19 (UPI) -- The Human Rights Campaign on Friday released a report that detailed the "stark contrast" in federal LGBTQ+ protections under President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

The report details the effects both presidents had on federal agencies during their presidencies and how those decisions affected LGBTQ+ people.

For example, agencies under Trump lifted many regulations that affirmed legal protections for LGBTQ+ people and stopped accepting civil rights complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Comparatively, under the Biden administration, many agencies worked to uphold the Supreme Court's ruling that LGBTQ+ people are protected from discrimination under the same rules that prohibit discrimination based on sex.

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"The analysis makes clear what we have seen across the country," Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. "Actions have consequences. Time and again, the Trump administration ushered in policies and positions that did damage to LGBTQ+ lives.

"Meanwhile, in their first term, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken steps to make our lives better. Federal agencies take actions that impact nearly every aspect of our lives. And Americans deserve a government that steps up to defend freedom and equality for all."

The report also analyzed federal policies around data collection, promoting inclusive policies and providing services and resources to LGBTQ+ people.

Agencies under Trump worked to stop data collection on LGBTQ+ people, which the HRC said is vital to ensuring housing providers, schools, employers and other entities are complying with civil-rights laws.

The Biden administration, however, tasked agencies with renewing questions relevant to LGBTQ+ people on surveys and forms and to begin researching ways to better include them in federal data collection.

Trump's administrative appointees eliminated existing references to LGBTQ+ people in their agencies' nondiscrimination policies and also failed to fill positions meant to advocate for LGBTQ+ equity.

Biden's appointees then worked to restore references to LGBTQ+ people in nondiscrimination policies and filled several government positions intended to advocate for them.

The report noted areas the Biden administration could have done better and expressed hope that a second Biden term would continue to bolster LGBTQ+ protections.

While agencies under the Biden administration reopened access to many government-funded programs that excluded LGBTQ+ people under the Trump administration, certain federal resources, such as access to HIV prevention medication and gender-affirming care for transgender veterans, remain out of reach.

"As we approach this inflection point in our history, it is critical that voters understand the vastly different ways in which a second Biden or Trump Administration could affect the lives and well-being of LGBTQ+ people," the report stated.

ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

Sandra Hemme freed after 43-year murder conviction overturned

 Sandra Hemme walks out of prison in Chillicothe, Mo., after 43 years. Photo courtesy of the Hemme legal team

July 20 (UPI) -- Sandra Hemme walked away from a Missouri prison and into the welcoming embrace of her family members Friday evening after serving 43 years for a 1980 murder she didn't commit.

Hemme, 64, was released at about 5:50 p.m. CDT from the Chillicothe Correctional Center, which is about 90 miles east of Kansas City, Mo.

Attorney Sean O'Brien escorted Hemme from the prison and to members of her family gathered outside the prison.

Hemme's time is prison was the longest that a wrongfully convicted woman has served in the United States, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

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"We are grateful that Ms. Hemme is now, finally, reunited with her family after 43 years," Hemme's legal team, which included the Innocence Project, said. "She has spent more than four decades wrongfully incarcerated for a crime she had nothing to do with. Tonight, she is surrounded by her loved ones, where she should have been all along. We will continue to fight until her name is cleared.

Hemme, a young mentally ill woman, was under the effects of strong prescription drugs when law enforcement investigators questioned her several times about the murder of Patricia Jeschke in St. Joseph, Mo.

Many have since concluded a former police officer who died many years ago likely murdered Jeschke.

"Police exploited her mental illness and coerced her into making false statements while she was sedated and being treated with antipsychotic medication," the Innocence Project told media.

Her conviction was based on the false statements coerced by St. Joseph Police Department investigators who ignored evidence pointing to St. Joseph Police officer Michael Holman, who died in 2015, the Innocence Project said.

No witnesses connected Hemme to the victim, murder or the crime scene, and Hemme had no motive to murder Jeschke, according to the Innocence Project.

The organization said only evidence against her were the false statements that police extracted from Hemme while she "was being treated at the state psychiatric hospital and forcibly given medication literally designed to overpower her will."

Officials at the Innocence Project said the St. Joseph Police Department "hid evidence implicating one of their own."

Evidence showed officer Holman used Jeschke's credit card a day after her murder, his truck was parked her home during the time she was murdered and investigators found her earrings at Holman's home.

Livingston County Presiding Judge Ryan Horsman overturned the conviction against Hemme, which the Missouri Supreme Court later upheld.


"It would be difficult to imagine that the state could prove Ms. Hemme's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt based on the weight of the evidence now available that ties Holman to this victim and crime and excludes Ms. Hemme," Horsman said in his ruling overturning Hemme's conviction.

Disneyland union workers vote 'yes' to authorize strike


The last strike to hit Disneyland was in 1984 and lasted 22 days. File Photo by Brendan McDemid/EPA

July 20 (UPI) -- Unions representing over 14,000 Disneyland workers said late Friday that members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike for higher wages and better working conditions.

The unions reported a 99% membership vote The vote comes two days after more than 1,000 Disneyland cast members and supporters staged a protest of unfair labor practices in front of the park's entrance.

"Disney has resorted to unlawful tactics instead of treating the bargaining process with the respect and seriousness it deserves," the Disney Workers Rising Bargaining Committee said in a statement. "We make Disneyland the place for family vacations, birthdays, celebrations ... and the magic you find across the resort."

Friday's vote does not guarantee a strike will occur immediately, rather the authorization permits a strike to occur at any time. Both sides in the meantime could reach a deal to avert a potential walkout.

The Disney workers committee said it is still committed to negotiations on Monday and Tuesday.

The unions represent custodians, ride operators, store clerks and candymakers at Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the Disney hotels.

Many employees have said Disney's wages do not cover the high cost of living in southern California, and some minimum-wage workers have said they live in their cars while working for the entertainment giant.

The unions in announcing the strike authorization said 64% of workers are spending more than half of their monthly paychecks on rent.

Union members began negotiations with the company on April 24 and have been calling for higher wages, a fair attendance policy, seniority increases and more robust park safety.

Employees on June 10 announced they had filed unfair labor practices against the company.

The charges, which involve more than 675 workers, are being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

The workers committee accused Disney of "intimidating, surveilling and unlawfully disciplining members, harming our negotiations and our ability to get the contract we deserve."

The contract for Disneyland cast members expired on June 16, and the contract for cast members at Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney expires Sept. 30.

The last strike at Disneyland was in September 1984 when 2,000 workers staged a 22-day walkout.

Disney said it offers wages starting at $19.90 per hour with a "robust" benefits package.

The minimum wage in California is $16 per hour

Science explains mind-altering effects of 'magic' mushrooms

By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay News

JULY 18, 2024 


"Magic" mushrooms achieve their psychedelic effects by temporarily scrambling a brain network involved in introspective thinking like daydreaming and remembering, a new study reports. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News

"Magic" mushrooms achieve their psychedelic effects by temporarily scrambling a brain network involved in introspective thinking like daydreaming and remembering, a new study reports.

Brain scans of people who took psilocybin -- the psychedelic drug in 'shrooms -- revealed that the substance causes profound and widespread temporary changes to the brain's default mode network.

These findings provide an explanation for psilocybin's mind-bending effects, and could lay the groundwork for better understanding how the drug might be used to treat mental health conditions like depression, researchers said.

"There's a massive effect initially, and when it's gone, a pinpoint effect remains," said co-senior study author Dr. Nico Dosenbach, a professor of neurology with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "That's exactly what you'd want to see for a potential medicine."

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"You wouldn't want people's brain networks to be obliterated for days, but you also wouldn't want everything to snap back to the way it was immediately," Dosenbach added in a university news release. "You want an effect that lasts long enough to make a difference."

Psilocybin showed promise as a treatment for depression in the 1950s and 1960s, but research into its potential flagged after the federal government deemed the substance an illegal drug in the late '60s, researchers explained in background notes.

However, research efforts have revived in recent years as psilocybin has been decriminalized in states like Oregon and Colorado.

"These days, we know a lot about the psychological effects and the molecular/cellular effects of psilocybin," said lead researcher Dr. Joshua Siegel, an instructor in psychiatry with the Washington University School of Medicine. "But we don't know much about what happens at the level that connects the two -- the level of functional brain networks."

To learn more, researchers recruited a handful of people to take either psilocybin or generic Ritalin -- a stimulant used to treat ADHD -- under controlled circumstances.

The team then used MRI brain scans before, during and after to track the drugs' effects on the participants' brains.

They found that psilocybin caused the brain's default mode network to desynchronize. The default mode network is a set of interconnected brain regions that all become active when the brain isn't working on anything in particular.

The default mode network re-established itself after the immediate effects of the drug wore off, but small differences persisted for weeks, researchers found.

No such changes were observed in those who took Ritalin, researchers said.

"The idea is that you're taking this system that's fundamental to the brain's ability to think about the self in relation to the world, and you're totally desynchronizing it temporarily," Siegel said. "In the short term, this creates a psychedelic experience. The longer-term consequence is that it makes the brain more flexible and potentially more able to come into a healthier state."

Each person's functional brain network tends to be as distinctive as a fingerprint, but psilocybin distorted those networks so thoroughly that people couldn't be identified through their scans until the drug wore off, the researchers noted.

"The brains of people on psilocybin look more similar to each other than to their untripping selves," Dosenbach said. "Their individuality is temporarily wiped out. This verifies, at a neuroscientific level, what people say about losing their sense of self during a trip."

The magnitude of the changes to the functional brain networks also tracked with the intensity each person reported from their individual psilocybin trips, researchers added.

However, the researchers emphasized that the findings should not be read as a reason to self-medicate with magic mushrooms.

Psilocybin is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for depression or any other condition, and more research is needed to understand its effects, the team said.


The new study was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

More information

The University of California-Berkeley has more about psilocybin's potential therapeutic value.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

New: Busy soundscapes of seagrass meadows and the animals that live there revealed

The Conversation
July 17, 2024 

Seagrass Meadow (Jordi Regas/University of Barcelona/AFP/Getty)

Seagrass, a marine plant that flowers underwater, has lots of environmental benefits – from storing carbon to preventing coastal erosion. This 3D habitat is often a haven for wildlife but, with so many seagrass restoration projects now happening globally, success can be hard to quantify.

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Isabel Key, a marine ecologist at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, about her work recording the soundscape of Scottish seagrass meadows to uncover more about the creatures living within them. She also explains how this is the first step in the development of a seagrass sound library and potentially even artificial intelligence tools that could help us better understand the sounds of the sea.

Recording soundscapes in seagrass is a useful tool because it allows researchers like Key to listen in and detect creatures that can’t be seen. Perhaps they’re camouflaged, hiding or nocturnal. It’s also a cheap and easy method that causes minimal disturbance.

After she collects audio clips recorded in seagrass meadows off the shores of Scotland, Key analyses her recordings using “acoustic indices”. “These are measures of the complexity of the soundscape,” she explains. “That includes animal sounds but also waves, boat noise and chinking mooring chains.”

Key also assesses phonic richness by listening to one-minute-long clips:
Looking at the spectrogram – a visual depiction of these sounds – I can count how many different types of animal sounds are present. That’s time-consuming but gives a great insight.

She’s noticing a characteristic seagrass soundscape with certain sounds occurring more commonly in seagrass than in sandy habitats. “Fish make low-pitched grunting, burping or purring noises. Crabs make higher-pitched metallic sort of scraping sounds,” she says.


A shore crab perches on the audiomoth used to record underwater sound. Isabel Key, CC BY-NC-ND

As well as hearing sounds from marine animals, the waves and human activity, she’s been hearing a rather more surprising sound coming from the seagrass itself as well.

Once a more comprehensive sound library can be built, machine learning could be used to hear how seagrass meadows, and other marine habitats, are faring, both in Scotland and in oceans around the globe.

Listen to the full interview with Issy Key, and to some of her seagrass sound recordings, on The Conversation Weekly podcast.

Disclosure statement: Isabel Key receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council and NatureScot.

A transcript of this episode is available on Apple Podcasts.

Recordings in this episode courtesy of Isabel Key. A recording of an Atlantic cod from Hawkins and Rasmussen (1978) and Hawkins and Picciulin (2019) from fishsounds.net.

This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Katie Flood. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Stephen Khan is our global executive editor.

You can find us on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s free daily email here.

Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here.

Anna Turns, Senior Environment Editor, The Conversation and Gemma Ware, Head of Audio, The Conversation


This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Why the stinky durian really is the ‘king of all fruits’

The Conversation
July 21, 2024 

Photo by Dagny Reese on Unsplash

There’s little else in the food world that brings about as much social turbulence as the durian. This so-called “king of all fruits” is considered a delicacy across its native Southeast Asia, where durian season is currently in full swing.

Global interest in the pungent food has also grown considerably in recent years. But despite this, the durian continues to be loathed as much as it is lauded. What’s behind its polarising nature?

Loved and loathed in equal measure

The international market for durians grew 400% last year. This is mainly due to China, where demand has expanded 12-fold since 2017. 

Durians for sale at a store in Shenzhen, China. Shutterstock

And although heavy rain and heatwaves have resulted in lower yields, the projected growth for 2024 looks promising.

But not everyone is a devotee. The durian often becomes a prickly topic in my conversations with friends in Southeast Asia – with family members clashing over its loud presence in the kitchen.

Durian is even banned in various hotels and public spaces across Southeast Asian countries. In 2018, a load of durian delayed the departure of an Indonesian flight after travellers insisted the stinky cargo be removed.

 

Due to their smell, durians may be banned in some shared spaces. Shutterstock

The fruit’s taste and smell are notoriously difficult to pinpoint. One article touting its benefits describes its odour as a rousing medley of “sulfur, sewage, fruit, honey, and roasted and rotting onions”.
Cultural and historical perspectives

Regardless of its divisive qualities, the durian has a central role in Southeast Asian cuisine and cultures. For centuries, Indigenous peoples across the region have sustainably grown diverse species of the fruit.

At Borobudur, a ninth-century Buddhist temple in Java, Indonesia, relief panels depict durian as a symbol of abundance

. 

A 2016 celebration of the durian harvest at a village in central Java, Indonesia. Shutterstock

In Malaysia, it’s common to find courtyards full of durian trees in people’s homes. These trees are cherished, as they provide generations of family members with food, medicine and shelter.

The durian also features in creation stories. In one myth from the Philippines, it’s said that a cave-dwelling recluse named Impit Purok concocted a special fruit to help an elderly king attract a bride. But when the king failed to invite him to the wedding party, the furious hermit cursed his creation with a potent stench.

In the West, the durian was first recorded and observed in the early 15th century by Italian merchant and explorer Niccolò de’ Conti. De’ Conti acknowledged the fruit’s esteem throughout the Malay archipelago, but considered its odour nauseating.

 

Workers in Malaysia preparing durian for export. Shutterstock

Early Western illustrations of the fruit can be found in Dutch spy and cartographer Jan Huygen van Linschoten’s book Itinerario (1596). The author remarks that the durian smells like rotten onions when first opened, but that with time one can acquire a taste for it.

Another scientific account comes from the 1741 book Ambonese Herbal, by German botanist Georg Eberhard Rumphius. Rumphius identified the fruit’s tough outer skin as the source of its pungency, noting how the people of Indonesia’s Ambon Island had a habit of disposing of the noxious rinds on the shoreline.
A fruit of contradictions

In Southeast Asian film and literature, the durian exerts a powerful yet contradictory effect on the senses. Director Fruit Chan’s film Durian Durian (2000) homes in on these polarising tendencies.

Set in Hong Kong, the film traces the transformation of the characters’ attitudes towards the durian. While the fruit incites revulsion at first, it eventually becomes an object of affection among the family portrayed in the film

. 

Durian Durian follows the story of a young girl named Fan (Mak Wai-Fan) and her sex worker neighbour, Yan (Qin Hailu), in Hong Kong. IMDB

This acceptance of the durian doubles as an analogy, reflecting the family’s acceptance of one of the main characters’ life as a sex worker.

In contrast, the Singaporean film Wet Season (2019) by Anthony Chen highlights various traditional views of the fruit. For example, the illicit affair between a teacher and her student calls attention to a persistent belief in the durian’s ability to arouse sexual desire and boost fertility (although any aphrodisiac benefits remain scientifically unproven).

A number of literary works also probe the durian’s cultural complexity. Singaporean poet Hsien Min Toh’s poem, Durians, opens by referring to the fruit’s “unmistakeable waft: like garbage and onions and liquid petroleum gas all mixed in one”.

At the same time it frames the durian tree as a canny being, as it never allows falling fruit to harm the vulnerable humans spreading its seeds on the ground below. 

Durian trees are a common sight in Malaysia. Shutterstock

US poet Sally Wen Mao attends to the enigma in her poem Hurling A Durian. She notes how on one hand the fruit nurtures desire, while on the other it purges memory like a poison. Mesmerised by its perplexing allure, the poet inhales its penetrating scent and strokes its rind until her fingers bleed.

The future and conservation

Although 30 species of durian are known to science (and more continue to be identified), only one species, Durio zibethinus, dominates the global market. Unfortunately, the growing demand for this one type is causing harm by displacing native forests, flora and even Indigenous communities.

In Indonesian Borneo, or Kalimantan, oil palm plantations threaten durian diversity by leaving less room for diverse species of durian to be cultivated. This imperils the cultural practices and beliefs linked to the durian tree.

It also impacts all the other animals that rely on the fruit. Elephants, orangutans and many other endangered fauna relish the durian, while bats and other pollinators help sustain its diversity. As such, effective conservation efforts must engage meaningfully with local people and species.

Perhaps, if past depictions of the durian helped shape its reputation, then new depictions could help conserve this king among fruits.

 

Durian is sold on the streets across several countries in South-East Asia. Shutterstock

John Charles Ryan, Adjunct Associate Professor, Faculty of Business, Law and Arts, Southern Cross University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.