We hate to tell you this, but there are leeches that can jump

July 29, 2024

By 

Regina G. Barber

, 

Hannah Chinn

, 

Rebecca Ramirez

 

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There are over eight hundred species of leeches, but researchers estimate that only ten percent of all leeches are terrestrial.

Auscape/Contributor/Getty Images

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Leeches are generally considered the stuff of nightmares. They lurk in warm, slow moving water. They drink blood.

And now, scientists have recently confirmed that at least some of them know how to jump.

Conservation biologist Mai Fahmy was studying the common Chtonobella fallax leech in Madagascar when she first documented the phenomenon on her phone.

At first, she says, "I really thought nothing of it." But then, when she came back to show her colleagues what she thought was just a fun video, "they couldn't believe what I had," she says.

That 10-second video helped lay to rest a centuries-old debate about the nature of terrestrial leeches. In this episode of Short Wave, host Regina G. Barber and producer Hannah Chinn discuss Fahmy's findings — and dive into the weird and wonderful world of leeches.

Interested in more critter science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to consider your animal of choice for a future episode!

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

UK

Budget ‘black hole’ is same size as Rishi Sunak’s pre-election tax cuts, says IFS chief

By Josh Self
Editor
Monday, 29 Jul, 2024

The boss of a leading economic think tank has said that the “black hole” in the UK’s public finances is equivalent to the Conservative Party’s pre-election National Insurance cuts.

Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt cut National Insurance by 2p in the last spring Budget before the election, after making the exact same cut in the autumn statement last year.

The combined cuts were expected to save the average earner £900 a year.

At the time, Hunt argued that it would make the tax system fairer and help revive the economy.


In order to pay for the tax reductions, the former government insisted it was looking at further public spending cuts, to be introduced if the Conservatives had won the recent election.

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Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said on Monday that it was “striking” that £20 billion “black hole” is of the same scale as Hunt’s NI cuts.

Johnson told BBC Breakfast: “It is very striking that if this problem is about £20 billion big that is exactly the scale of the National Insurance cuts implemented by Jeremy Hunt just before the election.

“Now, if those cuts were implemented in the knowledge that there was this kind of hole that is not good policy to put it mildly.”

The comments precede a commons statement from Rachel Reeves on Monday, which is expected to lay the ground for cuts to public spending, tax rises and delays to some infrastructure projects in order to fill the £20 billion “hole” in the nation’s finances.

Reeves will also announce an “office of value for money”, a body that will use civil service resources to identify and recommend savings for the current financial year.

Labour’s manifesto committed not to raise taxes on working people, relying instead on economic growth to improve government funds.

Labour has ruled out increases in income tax, VAT, national insurance and corporation tax, leaving changes to capital gains tax, inheritance tax and pensions relief on the table.

Speaking on Monday, Reeves will accuse the previous Conservative government of having “covered up” the state of public finances.

The chancellor will also reveal the date of this year’s budget, amid speculation Labour is considering raising taxes in that fiscal event.

Reeves is expected to say: “It is time to level with the public and tell them the truth.

“The previous government refused to take the difficult decisions. They covered up the true state of the public finances. And then they ran away. I will never do that.

“The British people voted for change and we will deliver that change. I will restore economic stability. I will never stand by and let this happen again.”

Responding, shadow exchequer secretary to the Treasury Gareth Davies accused Labour of “trying to con the British public into accepting … tax rises”.

Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here

Finance minister to reveal fiscal audit of 'broke and broken' Britain

Agence France-Presse
July 28, 2024 

London (AFP) – Finance minister Rachel Reeves will on Monday claim Britain is "broke and broken" when she reveals the findings of an assessment into the country's public finances ahead of a forthcoming budget. Reeves, appointed to the role following the centre-left Labour party's landslide election victory on July 4, will tell MPs the previous Conservative government "overspent this year's budgets by billions of pounds".

She will say this occurred through "a series of unfunded promises" and that the Tories then "covered up the true state of the public finances," according to the finance ministry.

It added Reeves, the first female chancellor of the exchequer, will vow to "restore economic stability" and "fix the foundations of our economy" in the afternoon statement to the House of Commons, expected after 3:30pm (1430 GMT).

Her plan will include government departments delivering "savings this financial year".

Reeves's first steps will also include commissioning an independent forecast by the national fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, and confirming the dates for the next budget and spending review later this year.

She is set to commit the government to one major fiscal event per year, ending so-called surprise budgets which the ministry said have "caused uncertainty for both the markets and family finances".

Meanwhile a new Office of Value for Money will be established to curb wasteful government spending and provide further scrutiny, "so that value for money governs every decision government makes," the ministry said.

"Across the public sector, the new government's assessment has shown that Britain is broke and broken," Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Downing Street office said in a weekend statement previewing Reeves's speech.

Black hole?

The Conservatives have refuted Labour's claims, alleging the new government is using the fiscal assessment to lay the ground for tax hikes.

The audit is widely seen as preceding infrastructure spending cuts and potential rises to some taxes -- although Labour vowed during the election campaign that it would not raise the main rates levied on workers.

The Sunday Times and other media have reported that Reeves's team has identified an additional public finances black hole of around £20 billion ($26 billion).

As a result, she plans to delay or scrap a number of unfunded rail and road projects, according to the reports.

The UK deficit -- the difference between what the government receives in tax and what it spends -- stood at around £120 billion in the 12 months to the end of March, the country's last fiscal year.

Labour has vowed to improve the performance of public services, notably the National Health Service and schools, which will require heavy spending, according to economists.

The party, which has spent the past 14 years in opposition, has pledged to boost public sector funding primarily through ramped up economic growth -- vowing to achieve the highest annual increases to GDP in the G7.

Reeves has already unveiled plans for the mass building of homes in a bid to help drive that growth, alongside reform of the country's antiquated planning system, renewed focus on the green energy transition and other measures.

Labour has ruled out immediate rises to income, worker insurance and corporation taxes. But changes to levies on capital gains and inheritance appear possible to fill holes in the public finances

KIDS LIBERATION

UK

Student, 10, wins national coding competition

Carys Nally
BBC Wiltshire

Family handout
Wilf pictured with his winning game behind him

A Wiltshire school pupil says he is "proud" to have won a national coding competition.

Wilf, 10, from Wansdyke Primary School in Devizes, took joint first prize in Discovery Education 2024 Summer Coder Challenge.

He designed a racing game using block coding to earn top prize at the popular computer programming competition for UK schools.

Wilf's teacher Jennifer Murray said: "Block coding has been fantastic for showing the students how their favourite technology is created and having a go for themselves."

"We hope it inspires more future coders, just like Wilf," she added.

Pupils at Wansdyke Primary School were able to complete their projects over two or three days at school during their coding lessons and at home on their own devices.

"I'm really proud of winning," Wilf said. "I'd like to make another game."

Anna, 10, from Lee Chapel Primary School in Basildon, Essex, was jointly awarded first prize in the challenge.

Family handout
Wilf completed the game in school during coding lessons and at home on an iPad

Wilf's mum Katey Daltry-Hunt said that everyone was so proud of him.

"He has a natural passion for this," she said. "Coding is completely alien to me and my husband.

"He really flew with it and was obsessed with the project over a few days until it was done, tinkering away - he's a whizz!"

Michael Savitz, Discovery Education’s General Manager, UK and International said: “The Discovery Education Summer Coder Challenge inspires children to have fun with computer programming while mastering this essential skill for the future.

"This year’s entries were very impressive and I congratulate our winning students for their achievements.”

WIlf won a coding robot plus a year's free subscription to Discovery Education Coding for his school.

Summerhillschool.co.ukwww.summerhillschool.co.uk/

A.S. Neill Summerhill School

Jun 28, 2024 ... Our Philosophy. Summerhill School is one of the most famous schools in the world. Discover more about the progressive educational philosophy ...

Summerhillfestival.comsummerhillfestival.com/press-kit/school-history-philosophy/

School History & Philosophy - Summerhill Festival of Childhood

Summerhill is the oldest school in the world based on community decision making, addressing issues including bullying, creating laws and abiding by them. This ...

Oup.comacademic.oup.com/jope/article/57/1/227/6985846

Democratic practice and curriculum objectives: Paul Hirst's visit to ...

... Summerhill as a vindication of Neill's educational philosophy and legacy. This vindication of course carried particular weight, coming as it did from a ...

Openculture.comwww.openculture.com/2020/03/summerhill-school.html

The Summerhill School, the Radical Educational Experiment That ...

Mar 9, 2020 ... The basic principle of such self-determination was the replacement of authority by freedom, to teach the child without the use of force by ...

Summerhillschool.co.ukwww.summerhillschool.co.uk/a-s-neill/

A.S. Neill and History - Summerhill School

Jun 10, 2024 ... Neill's has stood the test of time far longer than any other educational philosophy or initiative, whether radical or mainstream." — Dr Alan ...

Oxfordreference.comwww.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100542368

Summerhill School - Oxford Reference

This democratic approach is based on A. S. Neill's philosophy that children learn self‐confidence, tolerance, and consideration not from any externally imposed ...

Wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerhill_(book)

Summerhill (book) - Wikipedia

Summerhill, founded in the 1920s, is run as a children's democracy under Neill's educational philosophy of self-regulation, where kids choose whether to go ...

Despite what TikTok says, we still don’t understand emotional abuse

Gold Rush author Olivia Petter explains what social media therapy speak gets wrong


Olivia Petter, Gold Rush author
(Image credit: Coco Petter)

By Olivia Petter
published 29 July 2024
in Features

MARIE CLAIRE 

Apparently, everyone is a narcissist. At least, that’s what my Instagram algorithm would have me believe. Every night before bed, I treat myself to a little nighttime scroll, and every time, I’m met with clips from some therapist-slash-influencer telling me all the signs I might be in an abusive relationship with a narcissist.

“If someone tells you that you’re overreacting, that person is a narcissist,” one clip tells me. “If they call you names, they’re abusive,” chimes another. “If they don’t reply to you for an entire day, that’s emotional abuse.” And so on.


If everyone is a narcissist, is anyone?


I first got sucked into this particular social media rabbit hole following a breakup two years ago. My Instagram algorithm very quickly figured out what had happened and immediately started feeding me content it suspected I’d be interested in. And it was right – I was interested. But the information was overwhelming, conflicting, and strangely glib.

The rise of therapy speak in online spaces means that everywhere you look, there’s a video about attachment styles, love languages, and toxic relationships. So you’d be forgiven for thinking you know a lot about these things. Perhaps you watched a TikTok clip telling you about anxious attachment, and you’ve subsequently diagnosed yourself and your partner. Maybe you’ve even adopted a new set of terms you can use to define your relationship; I certainly did.

Within a few minutes of absorbing this content, I felt as if I’d completely figured out everything that went wrong with my ex. There were actual labels I could prescribe to certain behaviours and a new language I could use to communicate how they made me feel. It was validating and empowering. But in hindsight, it was also deeply misguided.


Olivia Petter, author of Gold Rush
(Image credit: Coco Petter)

Relationships are complex, especially when they go wrong. They can’t be explained in a 30-second clip on social media. But that’s not stopping people from heavily relying on these videos and even occasionally giving them the weight and significance that should be reserved for a therapist. One friend told me how an ex even sent her a link to a video describing an abusive relationship to help her “see” what she was doing to him. That ex had never been to therapy, but because he’d seen one video, he had decided that this was sufficient evidence to call my friend an abuser.

The problem is that when we become too liberal with terms like “abuse” and “narcissist”, we dilute the meaning of them to the point that we can no longer recognise instances where they are appropriate. If everyone is a narcissist, is anyone? And if everyone is in an abusive relationship, it can’t be too serious, right?

All this is what drove me to write about emotional abuse in my debut novel, Gold Rush. The book is fundamentally about power and centres around a young woman named Rose. After meeting a famous musician at a work event, she spends an evening with him, only to wake up the following morning in pain and unable to piece together what happened. What follows is an exploration of consent, celebrity culture and the nature of fame. But it’s Rose’s unlikely friendship with a social media influencer called Clara that sheds light on abusive relationships.

That’s the tricky thing about emotional abuse; there’s an absence of physical symptoms.

Despite the free hotel stays and designer goodies, Clara’s glossy life is not all it seems. And as the novel goes on, we start to get a sense of what she might be hiding both from her millions of followers and also from herself. And that is easier to do than you might think.

That’s the tricky thing about emotional abuse; there’s an absence of physical symptoms. This means it can be all too easy to dismiss signs of abuse, whether it’s name-calling, belittling, manipulation, coercion, or gaslighting. Over time, you internalise these things and, depending on how your partner behaves, might even start to blame yourself. Perhaps you think it’s ‘not that bad’ because you haven’t been physically harmed. Or, because you see this kind of thing being spoken about so much on social media, you think it’s common and, therefore, normal. It isn’t.

Regardless of how many TikTok videos or articles you read about emotional abuse, you could still come away not really understanding what it is and how it happens. That’s where I think popular culture comes in, specifically fiction. Through the prism of storytelling, you have the power to show how these dynamics play out between two people in all their nuanced complexity. That’s what I’ve endeavoured to do in Gold Rush through the character of Clara.

The book has only just come out, but I’ve been overwhelmed by the response to this particular storyline. It’s rewarding, of course, and makes me feel comforted to know my words have resonated with people. But it’s also upsetting; why aren’t there more stories about emotional abuse out there? I wonder how things might have been different had we known about emotional abuse sooner. What could we have been saved from?

Gold Rush by Olivia Petter is published by 4th Estate and out now

Olivia Petter
Journalist and author
Olivia Petter is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster based in London. She is currently a columnist at The Independent and has also written for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, British Vogue, Stylist, and Grazia, among others.

 

Quakers submit evidence to UN on lack of UK progress on racism

by Agency Reporter | Jul 29, 2024 | Briefing

THE UK must do more to tackle racism, say Quakers in Britain, as the country faces a review by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Since the last review in 2016, the UK has gone through Brexit, a global pandemic which hit black and Asian people in the UK disproportionately hard, and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.

Yet while Quakers in Britain and civil society organisations have repeatedly suggested ways to address racial discrimination, the UK government has habitually failed to act on them. Now the faith group and others, including Amnesty International and the Racial Equality Network, are taking their concerns to the United Nations and submitting evidence to the first CERD review of the UK in eight years, which will be heard in August.

“We believe the main cause of racial and ethnic disparities in the UK is an ongoing narrative of British superiority towards other countries and people”, Quakers wrote. They highlighted areas contributing towards racism as education, immigration and asylum, and policing.

Quakers in Britain recommend that the UK should scrap or amend the Public Order Act (2023) and the stop-and-search policies, which give already institutionally racist UK police substantial power. Black people are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched according to the UK government’s own statistics, they said.

The UK’s immigration policies also perpetuate racism by demonising migrants and asylum seekers, the submission says. This stops asylum seekers integrating and creates an environment conducive to violence.

In education, the Prevent programme has been shown to disproportionately target and stigmatise Muslim young people and should be abolished, they said. All UK education systems should work with unions, teachers, and young people on an antiracist education strategy.

On the steep rise in permanent exclusions from English schools, they noted: “Our research highlights that permanent school exclusions are racialised.” They added: “UK education should make more of the legacy of colonialism and the link between racial disparities and vulnerability to climate breakdown.”

Alongside Quakers in Britain’s written evidence, Edwina Peart, equity and justice lead, is submitting video evidence to be viewed by CERD members.

* The full submission is avaliable to download here.

* Source: Quakers in Britain

 UK

Emergency puberty blocker ban was lawful, High Court rules

Trans rights protesters (PA)

By Jess Glass, PA Law Editor

Today 

A ban on puberty blockers introduced by the Conservative government with emergency legislation was lawful, the High Court has ruled.

Campaign group TransActual, and a young person who cannot be named, made a bid to challenge the decision of now-shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins to impose a so-called “banning order” on puberty blockers, which suppress the natural production of sex hormones to delay puberty.

At a hearing on July 12, the High Court in London heard the secondary legislation prevents the prescription of the medication from European or private prescribers and restricts NHS provision to within clinical trials.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland defended the claim and said the case should be dismissed.

In a ruling on Monday, Mrs Justice Lang dismissed the challenges which had argued the ban was unlawful.

She said: “This decision required a complex and multi-factored predictive assessment, involving the application of clinical judgment and the weighing of competing risks and dangers, with which the court should be slow to interfere.”

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Although the emergency ban was implemented by the previous Conservative government, the court previously heard that it might be made permanent by new Labour ministers.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting later said he was “treading cautiously” in his decision amid “lots of fear and anxiety”.

The MP for Ilford North has faced criticism from within his own party for the decision, with members of Labour’s LGBT wing writing to him earlier this month with “concerns” about an indefinite ban.

SCOTLAND

Environmentalists fight local authority in court over industrial site plans

The court hearing will begin on Monday.

PA MediaThe hearing will take place at the Court of Session, Edinburgh (PA).
PA Media

Posted in Aberdeen City
City of Edinburgh

Environmentalists are fighting a local authority in court over plans to turn a public park into an industrial site.

Friends of St Fittick’s Park, an arm of Friends of the Earth (FotE), will attend a hearing in the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Monday, where they plan to fight Aberdeen City Council’s plans to turn the park into a site called an Energy Transition Zone (ETZ).

ETZ Ltd is a private sector-led and not-for-profit company spearheading the North East of Scotland’s energy transition ambition, receiving governmental support.

The company’s website says it has a “clear ambition to reposition the region as a globally recognised new and green energy cluster”.

Based in Aberdeen, the company is now facing a backlash from the environmental campaigners, who have been fighting the plans since 2020.

The court is expected to hear evidence from FotE, who are claiming Aberdeen City Council has failed to exercise its duties under the Equality Act 2010, including the failure to conduct an Equalities Impact Assessment, especially given the park is within the top 10% of the Scottish Index of multiple deprivation areas.

Before the court proceedings, campaigners will be joined by supporters from Edinburgh and elsewhere for a short rally outside the Court of Session.

Nathaniel Campbell-Scott-Howells of Torry, Aberdeen, which is where the park is situated, said: “I hope the outcome of the judicial review will be a victory for the people of Torry and the campaign to protect the park.

“We also hope it sparks a national conversation about planning, especially when it comes to energy transition. We have witnessed the relationships between Aberdeen Council, Scottish Government and private interests that appear to usurp any real public control of our land.”

Campaigner Chris Aldred added: “Access to justice in Scotland is prohibitively expensive, and there is no equal right of appeal, thus giving developers an unfair advantage over Scottish communities. It is very encouraging in this context that the judge Lord Fairlie has recognised that there is a case to answer.”

Ishbel Shand, a Friends of St Fittick’s Park campaigner, said: “Aberdeen City Council is a partner in the business plan that created ETZ ltd.

“It has control of the land. It is the planning authority. There was no consultation before St Fittick’s Community Park was rezoned for industry.

“The scheme is, moreover, taxpayer-funded. Surely this is so manifestly unfair that it cannot be legal?”

ETZ Ltd and Aberdeen City Council were contacted for comment.