Greta Thunberg gets praised by the world — and criticised by the man presiding over Brazil's environmental atrocities
You may not agree with Greta Thunberg on the environment, but this is a young woman who has inspired millions — if not billions — and deserves respect. Time magazine's editors clearly understood this as they named her their 'Person of the Year' on Wednesday.
The citation in the Instagram post above says it all. Environmental fears have bubbled up for decades, but 2019 is the year that climate change went to the top tier of the political agenda and 'no one did more to make that happen' than Thunberg.
The young Swede is doing anything but resting on her laurels — instead she tweeted about people being murdered in the Amazon as they try to stop deforestation. The accusation led to Brazil's extremist right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, taking aim, as reported in The Guardian:
'Greta’s been saying Indians have died because they were defending the Amazon,' a smirking Bolsonaro told reporters outside the presidential palace in Brazil’s capital, Brasília.'It’s amazing how much space the press gives this kind of pirralha,' Bolsonaro added, using a Portuguese word that loosely translates as 'little brat' or 'pest'.Bolsonaro had initially failed to remember Thunberg ’s name, labelling her simply “that girl”.
Shocking. It's bad enough when any over-privileged, middle-aged man tries to stomp on the incredible efforts of a young girl who has put them to shame (and everyone from Jeremy Clarkson's daughter to one of his co-presenters have put him in his place over that). For the head of state of one of the biggest countries in the world to follow suit is sickening — yet in a sense it also shows what an incredible job Thunberg is doing. It's hard not to think of Joan of Arc inspiring France against the invading English forces.
On This Day... in 2000
The United States Supreme Court rules on the George W. Bush v Al Gore court case which decides the outcome of the Presidential Elections in Florida, and thereby the election as a whole.
The result made Bush only the fourth president in US history — and the first since 1888 — to lose the popular vote but win the electoral college votes necessary to take office. In 2016, Donald Trump became the fifth.
The sad case of the Anglesey starlings
Some 300 starlings fell dead out of the sky earlier this week — a mystery which prompted all sorts of speculation and fear, particularly in a week when bird flu has reappeared in Britain for the first time in four years.
Police now think they've figured out what happened — though they are awaiting a toxicologist's report to confirm. It seems that the flock may have swooped onto the road to feast on some sort of contaminated food.
Nonsense of the Day
Every day, we get sent all sorts of press releases. Some are interesting. Some are worthy. Some are worrying.
And some are... well, let's just say that they make us stroke our chins in disbelief. On the plus side, they offer a bit of light relief in a sometimes-grim-and-gloomy world. Here's one great example.
'Half of British women will spend ten hours getting ready for the office Christmas party this year,' we're told today, according to a survey of 2,000 women carried out by a 'lift and shape tape brand' called Perky Pear.
It gets better. 'Liverpool ladies spend longest on their festive party routine on average – typically 12 hours compared to speedy Gloucester gals, who take an average of just five hours.'
Sorry — did we read that right? Just five hours...?
How to throw a great Christmas party (Country Life)
And finally...
...this is true:
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An eight-bedroom wonder in East Sussex where the outdoors are an adventureThe interiors of Old Middleton are pretty good too.
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Seeing you seeing me: How did British artists portray eachother in the 20th and 21st centuries?The 'Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists' exhibitions comprises paintings, prints, drawings, photography, sculpture and installation spanning 125 years.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
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Country Life Today: Why plastic is killing hermit crabsIn today's round-up, we learn than half a million hermit crabs have died from plastic pollution; find out what the Pope has to say about climate change; and discover why NASA have been 'bombing' the sun.
