Author Topic: 05/12/20  (Read 1969 times)

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Offline Maik

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05/12/20
« on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 02:14:43 »
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Open letter sent to PM calling for law on pets

More than 140 prominent figures of the arts and letters, as well as representatives of animal protection groups, have sent an open letter to the prime minister calling for a law on pets.

In the letter, the signatories call on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to make good on a pledge made in September 2019 for legislation outlining clear rules of pet ownership and care.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/259909/article/ekathimerini/news/open-letter-sent-to-pm-calling-for-law-on-pets

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #1 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 02:22:39 »
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‘Not fit for purpose’: Rapid Covid tests used across UK ‘failing to detect half of all cases’
Experts call into question suitability and safety of lateral flow tests used under government’s Operation Moonshot plans

Rapid Covid tests deployed to enable students to return home for Christmas, and care home residents to have visitors, are failing to identify up to 50 per cent of positive infections, according to the government’s own analysis.

Plans were this week rolled out across the UK for care homes to use the rapid tests to enable people to see their relatives and even briefly pause social distancing during visits, as students also began to head home at the opening of the travel window.

However, the failure of the devices to pick up enough cases has raised the risk of asymptomatic Covid carriers bringing the virus into care homes, or back to their family.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-rapid-testing-cases-uk-b1766375.html

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #2 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 02:27:30 »
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Police move in after Herefordshire river bulldozed and straightened
Witness describes damage to mile-long stretch of Lugg as egregious act of ‘ecological vandalism’

Police and environment agency staff have moved in to stop further damage being done to a protected river, after what one witness described as one of the most egregious acts of ecological vandalism in 25 years.

A mile-long stretch of the River Lugg outside Kingsland, near Leominster in Herefordshire, has been flattened by a bulldozer. Trees have been felled, the river straightened and the river bed damaged.

The river is protected as it is an important habitat for salmon, otters, lamprey, dragonfly and crayfish. The protection also covers the way the river meanders through the countryside. But after several days of activity, the river banks have been flattened, gravel has been scraped from the riverbed, and the gentle curve of the river has been straightened.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/04/police-move-in-after-herefordshire-river-bulldozed-and-straightened

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #3 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 02:42:31 »
Mains power supply likely to be down between 08:00-14:00 today in the Erissos area due to essential repair works following the Ianos floods.

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #4 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 09:10:20 »
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Greek Immigrant in Roman-Era London Used Amulet to Ward Off Plague

Although most of us may feel a bit sorry for ourselves in 2020, having to deal with lockdowns and other strict measures to combat the coronavirus, we are are truly not alone in this experience. Millions of people who lived before us dealt with plagues which killed vast swaths of the population and instilled fear and dread in all those who were left tp pick up the pieces of society.

A Greek inhabitant of the Roman city of Londinium in the late 160s, named Demetrios, lived through the Antonine plague — or at least part of the plague — which he tried to ward off by wearing a scroll with a Greek prayer in the form of rhyming hexameters.

The sheet is an alloy of 55% lead and 45% tin, both easily pliable, soft metals. Both metals  occur in great abundance in Britain but not in Greece — leading experts to believe that the object was made in London and that Demetrios was a member of a Greek-speaking community in the great city.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/12/04/greek-immigrant-in-roman-era-london-used-amulet-to-ward-off-plague/

Offline Misty

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #5 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 10:52:42 »
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Greek Immigrant in Roman-Era London Used Amulet to Ward Off Plague

Although most of us may feel a bit sorry for ourselves in 2020, having to deal with lockdowns and other strict measures to combat the coronavirus, we are are truly not alone in this experience. Millions of people who lived before us dealt with plagues which killed vast swaths of the population and instilled fear and dread in all those who were left tp pick up the pieces of society.

A Greek inhabitant of the Roman city of Londinium in the late 160s, named Demetrios, lived through the Antonine plague — or at least part of the plague — which he tried to ward off by wearing a scroll with a Greek prayer in the form of rhyming hexameters.

The sheet is an alloy of 55% lead and 45% tin, both easily pliable, soft metals. Both metals  occur in great abundance in Britain but not in Greece — leading experts to believe that the object was made in London and that Demetrios was a member of a Greek-speaking community in the great city.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/12/04/greek-immigrant-in-roman-era-london-used-amulet-to-ward-off-plague/

That's interesting Maik. wondering if it was an early version of Tama, I think that's what they are called, the small depictions of body parts that people leave in churches next to icons.

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #6 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 13:09:05 »
Hm, could be, I didn't think of that. If anyone's not sure what tama look like, there's some pics on this U.S. site here.

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #7 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 13:16:50 »
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Bear-y Christmas!: Australian family shocked to find koala hiding amongst the fairy lights

An Australian family got a shock when they found a live koala amongst the baubles on their Christmas tree.

The furry creature had sneaked into the house through the back door and made himself comfortable on the fake tree.
https://www.itv.com/news/2020-12-04/bear-y-christmas-australian-family-shocked-to-find-koala-hiding-amongst-the-fairy-lights

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #8 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 18:20:03 »
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Shops selling Christmas trees & decorations to open on Monday

Seasonal retail stores trading exclusively in Christmas trees & decorations will open on Monday December 7 and will operate until January 8, said Secretary General for Trade & Consumer Protection Panagiotis Stampoulidis at Friday's live coronavirus briefing.

The sale of Christmas decorations and other items relating to the holiday season will be allowed in supermarkets too, he added.

Citizens can visit Christmas goods stores by using option #2 in the SMS to number 13033 before leaving the house.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/511435/Shops-selling-Christmas-trees--decorations-to-open-on-Monday

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #9 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 18:25:53 »
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Coronavirus: Couple find their house is in a different tier from the garden
Bizarre boundary quirk means Sheila and Philip Herbert’s home is in tier 2 of new restrictions – but garden is in tier 3
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coronavirus-tiers-restrictions-house-garden-b1766683.html

 :blink:

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #10 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 21:39:56 »
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Greece is the world’s fourth biggest marble exporter

Greece stands fourth worldwide in the export of marble blocks and slabs, shipping 76% of its production to 120 countries.

The sector employs 6,500 workers who are directly involved in the primary sector and some 18,000 workers in the secondary sector.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/259930/article/ekathimerini/business/greece-is-the-worlds-fourth-biggest-marble-exporter

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #11 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 21:43:47 »
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Major power grid investment in southern Greece blocked by local convent

A 110-million-euro investment by Greece's Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) to expand the 400 kV grid in the southern Peloponnese province has "stumbled" onto opposition by a local convent.

According to sources affiliated with the semi-autonomous operator, the project is deemed as imperative for the Peloponnese's energy stability and a key in commencing several so-called "green investments" worth several tens of millions of euros.

Nevertheless, the project was temporarily blocked until Dec. 16 by a first instance court in the mountainous town of Kalavryta, a date when an injunction motion will be heard.

Nuns at the Eastern Orthodox convent of the Agii (Saints) Theodori filed the initial motion to stop the construction of the last two high-voltage pylons of a specific power line, planned pylons that will be some 500 meters from the nunnery.
https://www.naftemporiki.gr/story/1666299/major-power-grid-investment-in-southern-greece-blocked-by-local-convent

Offline Maik

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Re: 05/12/20
« Reply #12 on: Saturday, 05 December, 2020 @ 21:47:59 »
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Greece Launches Massive Reforestation Program

The Greek Minister of the Environment and Energy Kostis Hatzidakis recently announced the launch of Greece’s largest reforestation campaign. The reforestation effort would lead to the planting of over 30 million trees over a period of 10 years.

Planting will start in regions that have not witnessed natural regeneration of lost forests, mainly due to forest fires.

The plan, announced in the last days of November, was presented to the Council of Ministers by Hatzidakis and was made possible by the 310 million euros Greece received from the European Union’s Recovery Fund.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/12/05/greece-launches-massive-reforestation-program/