Monthly Archives: February 2021

Cyberpunk Freedom Fighters: Rise of the Red Hand by Olivia Chadha – tor.com

Posted: February 6, 2021 at 8:56 am

After World War III nearly wiped out all of human existence, the remaining civilizations united together under the banner of the Planetary Alliance Commission (PAC). People were divided into sealed provinces rather than nations and left generally to their own devices with one big caveat: financial backing comes from PAC. To earn it, a province must demonstrate its value to PAC, prove its worth through feats of scientific discovery or social engineering. How they achieve that is left up to the provinces.

Ashiva grew up in the slums of the South Asian Province. With the development of a powerful AI called Solace, citizens of the SAP were separated, the genetically desirable moving up into the elite towers and the rest condemned to a slow death by governmental neglect in the Narrows. With her cybernetic armcourtesy of a scientifically gifted Narrows dwellershe scrounges and steals and scrapes by. Secretly, she works for a group of freedom fighters scattered to the winds but waiting for the signal to reunite and overthrow the corrupt leaders of the SAP.

Which brings us to the beginning of Olivia Chadhas new cyberpunk young adult novel Rise of the Red Hand. Kid Synch, the rebellious son of an Uplander, gets embroiled in the middle of a massive conspiracy at the heart of Solace. He teams up with Ashiva and her adoptive sister Taru to stop mecha soldiers, skeezy scientists, and a virulent pandemic from destroying the Narrows and everyone in it. These three teens must choose who lives and who dies, or have the choice made for them.

Readers arent told exactly where in South Asia Rise of the Red Hand is set, but with the names and non-English words my guess is the Indian Subcontinent. This far into the future, and with historic borders dismantled, it makes sense for the feel of the setting to be regional rather than specific. Its also a rather clever way for a diaspora author to replicate that experience. The people of the SAP may be living in the general vicinity of their ancestral lands, but they are also a diaspora. They have been displaced and corralled, their unique regional traditions erased or left behind as they are blended together in the melting pot that is the SAP. They retain bits and pieces, slang mostly, from a culture that they can no longer access.

The setting is more than an interesting backdrop. The behaviors, objectives, and motivations of the characters arent rooted in a Western/white mentality but a South Asian diasporic one. Theres a great moment when Ashiva sees the American Province representatives and uses it as a way to knock American superiority down a few pegs. Of course the Americans would use their funding to create identical, beautiful, emotionless clones, and of course Ashiva would roll her eyes at them playing into their own stereotype.

The rest of the worldbuilding is just as fascinating. The Planetary Alliance Commission has a strong colonialism vibe. They swooped in to take power from independent nations, and the people they rule over have no say in the any of it. They control the Provinces by controlling their funding. They issue dictates that must be obeyed but offer little support or guidance for how. This allows provincial leaders to exploit the hell out of their people while simultaneously enforcing a growing colonial hegemony. Ultimately the PAC benefits from that exploitation.

Ashivas concerns revolve around the SAP, but she is keenly aware that the root of the problem is the PAC. She cant dismantle a global superpower, but she can use her cybernetic arm to assist the underground revolutionaries trying to take power from the SAP and return it to the people. Perhaps exposing the corruption and hypocrisy rotting the SAP from the inside out to the rest of the Provinces will cause some damage to PAC as a bonus.

This is the kind of story that requires a lot of background information in order to work. Chadha does a good job of dispensing that information out in such a way that it allows the narrative to breathe without slowing down the plot. We get to see the desperate poverty of the Narrows through Ashivas POV, the plastic pleasure of Solace through Kid Synch, and the blacksite hell that is the Void through Taru. Like the setting, each main character feels organic and true to the story Chadha has created. This is a world where alliances are hard won and peace is temporary. Families are forged and shattered. Friendships are tested by the drive to survive. The secondary characters dont quite get enough fleshing out, but they serve their purpose well enough.

There were a few elements I struggled with. A couple of lines of description veered a little too close to fatphobia for my taste. And I wouldve liked more openly queer characters. I also dont think the romance did anything for the plot. The only chemistry I felt between the two characters was purely platonic. Especially since a character has a whole discussion about how they havent had time for love since theyre so busy trying to survive. It added nothing and couldve been excised without derailing the story or the characters motivations.

Cyberpunk, with its wild contrast of mind-bogglingly advanced technology against the crumbling infrastructure of society, is the perfect subgenre to explore the chaos of the world today and predict the world of tomorrow through a YA lens. We dont get much cyberpunk in young adult fiction these days, despite the obvious need. Wouldnt it be nice if Rise of the Red Hand kickstarted a new trend?

Rise of the Red Hand is available from Erewhon Books.Read an excerpt here.

Alex Brown is a librarian by day, local historian by night, author and writer by passion, and an ace/aro Black person all the time. Keep up with her on Twitter, Instagram, and her blog.

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Cyberpunk Freedom Fighters: Rise of the Red Hand by Olivia Chadha - tor.com

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International Space Station will be visible in the sky above Pennsylvania this week – PhillyVoice.com

Posted: at 8:55 am

Pennsylvania residents will have an opportunity to see the International Space Station as it glides above the state this week, but those who wish to catch it will have to combine timing and location with a little luck from the weather.

The ISS circles the Earth in low orbit approximately every 93 minutes, but certain times of the year offer better opportunities to see it depending on the location.

Each week, Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston determines sighting opportunities for over 6,700 locations worldwide. They provide precise viewing information online at their Spot the Station site.

Pennsylvania residents will have a number of chances in the coming days, with certain dates and conditions best-suited for some locations over others. The overcast weather brought on by this week's nor'easter doesn't help matters, but clear skies are expected in Philadelphia on Thursday, for example, and will offer a good window to seek out the ISS in the sky.

The chart below includes suggestsopportunities to see the space stationfrom Gloria Dei Church National Historic Site in Queen Village, one of several recommended spots in the city included on the Spot the Station site.

In the chart above, Max Height refers to the height of the space station from the horizon in the night sky.

"The horizon is at zero degrees, and directly overhead is ninety degrees," NASA says. "If you hold your fist at arm's length and place your fist resting on the horizon, the top will be about 10 degrees."

To reach the Max Height, you can stack your fists to add by 10 and reach a general height for the peak point of the ISS's path, as explained in the video below.

The ISS has been in orbit for just over 22 years and has been continuously occupied for the last 20 years and three months. The station is collaboration between the five participating space agencies of the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada.

To find ideal viewing times, head over to the Spot the Station site and customize your location.

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International Space Station will be visible in the sky above Pennsylvania this week - PhillyVoice.com

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Spacewalking astronauts will install new cameras and wrap up space station power upgrades today. Watch it live! – Space.com

Posted: at 8:55 am

On Monday (Feb. 1) two NASA astronauts will set out for their second spacewalk together to tackle battery and camera upgrades at the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover, who arrived at the space station on SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft in November and completed their first spacewalk together on Wednesday (Jan. 27), are scheduled to exit the station through the Quest airlock at 7:05 a.m. EST (1205 GMT) and will spend about 6.5 hours working in the vacuum of space.

NASA TV will provide live coverage of the spacewalk preparations beginning at 5:30 a.m. EST (1030 GMT). You can watch it live here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, or directly via the agency's website.

Related: Spacewalk photos: International Space Station gets a power upgrade

Hopkins and Glover will tackle a variety of tasks during this spacewalk, including the installation of a new high-definition camera on the Destiny laboratory and the replacement of another camera on the station's starboard truss. The spacewalkers will also install one last lithium-ion battery to wrap up a big space station power upgrade that began in 2017.

After Hopkins and Glover emerge from the Quest airlock, the spacewalkers' first task will be to head over the the space station's Port-4 (P4) truss structure, where they will install an adapter plate for the new lithium-ion battery. The battery was installed at the P4 truss in advance by the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, NASA officials wrote in an ISS blog.

With the battery work complete, the astronauts will head over to the other side of the orbiting laboratory to replace high-definition cameras on the starboard truss. The spacewalkers will also route some ethernet cables at the starboard truss before heading over to the Japanese Kibo laboratory to install a "wrist vision" camera on Kibo's 33-foot (10 meters) robotic arm.

Related:The International Space Station: inside and out (infographic)

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Monday's spacewalk will be the fourth spacewalk of Hopkins' career and the second for Glover. Hopkins will be designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV-1), which means he will wear the spacesuit with red stripes and will be the first to exit the airlock. As EV-2, Glover will wear the plain white suit with no stripes.

NASA is planning two more spacewalks "in the near future," the agency said in a statement. After Monday's spacewalk, the next spacewalk will see Glover and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins prepare the space station for new solar arrays that will be installed at the station later this year. Then for the fourth spacewalk of 2021, Rubins will head out with Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi to "continue upgrading station components," NASA said in the statement.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her on Twitter @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

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Spacewalking astronauts will install new cameras and wrap up space station power upgrades today. Watch it live! - Space.com

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Quantum computing breakthrough uses cryogenics to scale machines to thousands of times their current size – The Independent

Posted: at 8:54 am

Computer scientists have achieved a quantum computing breakthrough that makes it possible to massively scale up the ultra-powerful machines.

A team of researchers from Microsoft and the University of Sydney invented a chip, dubbed Gooseberry, that can support thousands of qubits the building blocks of quantum computers while operating at temperatures close to absolute zero.

Qubits replace the traditional bits found in current computer systems, which use 1s and 0s to store and transfer data. By acting in a state of superposition, qubits are able to act as both a 1 and a 0 at the same time, allowing quantum computers to achieve processing power that is exponentially more powerful than traditional computers.

To realise the potential of quantum computing, machines will need to operate thousands, if not millions, of qubits, said Professor David Reilly from the University of Sydney, who was chief investigator of the research.

The worlds biggest quantum computers currently operate with just 50 or so qubits. This small scale is partly because of limits to the physical architecture that control the qubits. Our new chip puts an end to those limits.

The research is published in the journal Nature Electronics.

Qubits need to be stored at temperatures that are 40 times colder than deep space in order to function, with current systems relying on cables connected to each individual qubit stored a these extreme temperatures.

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The cryogenic Gooseberry chip disrupts this architectural approach by generating control signals for thousands of qubits in a single place, while requiring only two wires to communicate with the rest of the system.

Current machines create a beautiful array of wires to control the signals; they look like an inverted gilded birds nest or chandelier, Professor Reilly said.

Theyre pretty, but fundamentally impractical. It means we cant scale the machines up to perform useful calculations. There is a real input-output bottleneck.

Building a quantum computer is perhaps the most challenging engineering task of the 21st century Through our partnership with Microsoft, we havent just suggested a theoretical architecture to overcome the input-output bottleneck, weve built it.

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Quantum computing breakthrough uses cryogenics to scale machines to thousands of times their current size - The Independent

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This company is using quantum-inspired algorithms to help create the OLED displays of the future – ZDNet

Posted: at 8:54 am

OTI is using quantum simulations, machine learning and real-world testing in pilot production.

It was about four years ago, in the back of an Uber driving him back from a conference, that the idea of using quantum computing to design OLED displays for smartphones and TVs started germinating in the mind of Michael Helander, the CEO and co-founder of materials design company OTI Lumionics.

Helander was sharing his ride with a particle physicist who doubled as a VC, and who was then an early investor in leading quantum computing company D-Wave. As you do in such circumstances, the pair were discussing quantum computing solutions capable of simulating the properties of atoms coming together to form molecules and solids and what that might mean for Helander's field of expertise, computational chemistry.

"That conversation got me asking myself: is this even feasible?" Helander tells ZDNet. Now a few years later, it would seem so. OTI has successfully developed a new electrode material that is ready for mass production and started shipping worldwide at the end of 2020. The material will be used to manufacture first-of-their-kind transparent OLED displays.

Most OLED displays require several layers made up of different materials to function, including a cathode, through which electrical current flows in. Because standard cathodes are not transparent, front-facing cameras and sensors for technologies like facial recognition have to sit on top of the display, which is why most smartphones still come with a punch-hole at the top.

SEE: Tableau business analytics platform: A cheat sheet (free PDF download) (TechRepublic)

For our devices' bulky cutouts to disappear, cameras would have to be integrated under the display meaning that the display needs to be transparent. OTI's team replaced standard cathodes with a new material patterned with small holes that act as microscopic transparent windows, effectively letting light go through the display.

With front-facing cameras and 3D facial recognition sensors moved under the display, not only can the screen be larger and smoother, but transparent displays also come with higher brightness and longer battery life. Helander hopes this will bring about new designs for phones, and also laptops, tablets and foldable devices, as well as AR and VR hardware.

"OLED displays are a massive and growing market," says Helander. "There is a lot of excitement about the technology expanding into laptops and monitors. We see it as an opportunity to innovate when it comes to the convergence of display and sensors."

Behind OTI's innovative product is a so-called "materials discovery platform" and powering that platform, equally as innovative techniques. "At OTI Lumionics we are developing advanced materials by design using quantum simulations, machine learning and real-world testing in pilot production," proudlystates the company's pitch.

There is a good reason that Helander's interest in quantum was piqued four years ago: the technology, although still in its infancy, is expected to break new ground in the field of molecular simulation. For the CEO of a company that describes itself as a designer of advanced materials for the electronics sector, that is enough to justify digging deeper.

From early on, Helander's strategy has consisted of using a computer-based approach to electronic material design. As a small company, OTI was never equipped with armies of chemists ready to test and trial thousands of different molecular designs in the lab until a winning combination was found. "The way we develop materials has been heavily based on the use of computational techniques in chemical and material design," explains Helander.

"But it turns out that even state-of-the-art classical computational chemistry, for a lot of these difficult problems, is inadequate," he continues. "Either they can't reach a high enough level of accuracy, or, if the theory is accurate enough, it becomes an intractable problem that requires a supercomputer to solve."

Quantum computing, and its ability to leverage the odd behavior of qubits to solve many calculations at once, seemed at first glance an ideal match. Qubits could be used to predict how the complex alignment of many different compounds could result in particular properties for a given electronic material, as well as how this material would interact with other molecules in a device and they could, in principle, do this faster and more accurately than any existing classical methods.

Around the same time, long-established quantum champion IBM published the results of an experiment showing that simple molecules like hydrogencould be simulatedby a universal gate-based quantum system. The stars were aligned; the odds were in favor of quantum-based molecular simulation; and OTI's chemists started getting excited about the implications for computational chemistry.

They quickly found themselves facing a limiting factor. With less than a hundred qubits currently sitting in most quantum computers, there wasn't much that could actually be done. "To solve an industrial-sized problem, you need more qubits than will be scientifically feasible in the next ten to 20 years," says Helander. "But as a small company, we don't have the resources to invest in a long R&D program of that kind."

SEE: Less is more: IBM achieves quantum computing simulation for new materials with fewer qubits

Like any CEO, Helander's interest lies in short-to-near-term business value; and so, he decided to tackle the problem with an entirely new perspective. If the number of qubits available couldn't match the size of the problem, then the problem had to be re-made to match the number of qubits at hand.

"That's actually a gap in theory," says Helander. "So I started with a group of theoreticians. I told them to forget everything they knew about computational chemistry, and imagine a new set of computational chemistry representation to map to a qubit space. What would that look like?"

There is a long-standing problem in the quantum space, argues Helander: instead of developing brand-new programs that are tailored for quantum hardware, scientists apply classical models to qubits. As it turns out, however, the way problems are represented in the classical world doesn't always sit well with small-scale, hardware-constrained quantum computers.

Take the unitary coupled cluster that is, chemists' jargon to describe the technique used to represent chemical systems. According to Helander, that particular classical representation is highly inefficient when mapped onto a quantum computer, and requires large numbers of qubits and gate operations. Instead, OTI's researchersdeveloped a brand-new "qubit coupled cluster method,"adapted specially for quantum systems.

For Helander, if the number of qubits available couldn't match the size of the problem, then the problem had to be re-made to match the number of qubits at hand.

"In order to see value with limited hardware, you have to develop native code and write low-level stuff," says Helander. "We developed that first native representation of the problem we wanted to solve, for quantum computers."

Theory was promptly built into software and, equipped with a bunch of new quantum-ready algorithms, OTI's team tested the technology in cloud-based quantum computers. The researchers, however, couldn't let go of an ongoing feeling of frustration at the nevertheless limited hardware, at the lack of error correction, at the stubborn levels of noise, and often at all three at the same time.

This is when Helander started looking closer at quantum-inspired techniques, a branch of the field that looks at ways to apply quantum-optimized algorithms to classical hardware. With a new set of custom-built, highly efficient quantum algorithms, wondered the CEO, why not try and run the software on regular CPUs and GPUs?

SEE: BMW explores quantum computing to boost supply chain efficiencies

A partnership with Microsoft soon followed, and OTI's team started using the Redmond giant'sAzure Quantum platform, which is designed to run quantum-inspired algorithms on classical Azure hardware. In principle, by using sophisticated optimization techniques, Azure Quantum enables users to reap the rewards of quantum computing approaches while using classical devices.

Last year, in a blog post, Microsoft announced that the project was showing signs of success: OTI had effectivelydemonstrated meaningful resultson commercially relevant sized problems. Specifically, the company had completed the simulation of a green light-emitting OLED material known as Alq3 a problem that would have required 42 error-corrected qubits on gate-based quantum hardware.

For Helander, the experiment showed the promise of much nearer-term value to be drawn from quantum-inspired algorithms, and their potential to start drawing benefits from quantum computers without needing to use them directly.

The company completed the simulation of a green light-emitting OLED material known as Alq3, which would have required 42 error-corrected qubits on gate-based quantum hardware.

That is not to say that OTI has ruled out using pure quantum hardware. Quite the opposite: the company is working with D-Wave, which provides a cloud-based quantum annealer that is much easier to control than the gate-based quantum computers operated by companies like IBM or Rigetti. This means that D-Wave can offer a technology that is already several thousands of qubits-strong, and that can reach the industrial relevance that Helander and his team are looking for, without error.

Helander and his team, therefore, share their time between classical techniques, quantum-inspired approaches and purely quantum-based experiments.

"At the moment, our quantum techniques focus a lot on theory development and optimization," says Helander. "For our current product, for example, we applied a combination of all the different tools that we had classical simulations, quantum systems and quantum-inspired algorithms."

SEE: Microsoft's quantum cloud computing plans take another big step forward

"We still heavily combine our quantum methods with classical techniques," he continues. "Even though the amount of value we are driving is only a small subset of our everyday work, from this point forward we're looking at increasing that over time until more of our workflow is adopting quantum and quantum-inspired methods."

While the company, for now, is focusing on high-value OLED displays, Helander is positive that the discoveries led by OTI's research team will generate an avalanche of innovations in many other fields such as battery design and drug development. The technology could effectively replace processes that were until now based on trial-and-error, with highly sophisticated computer models that would rapidly build designs for new molecules from the ground up.

The potential of quantum computing to phenomenally disrupt industries that are hunting for new and improved materials is well-known, but it will be at least a decade before quantum's value translates into real-world results. For those too impatient to wait, however, quantum-inspired methods might provide an early sneak peak of better things to come.

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This company is using quantum-inspired algorithms to help create the OLED displays of the future - ZDNet

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IBM’s new roadmap for quantum computing promises 100x speedups and then some – Neowin

Posted: at 8:54 am

One of the pioneers of quantum computing, IBM, revealed its Quantum Development Roadmap for the future of quantum computers today. It builds on the firm's previous roadmap from September 2020, in which it laid out the pathway towards achieving quantum computing ecosystems comprised of thousands of noise-resilient and stable qubits by 2023. This "inflection point", as IBM puts it, is crucial for the full-scale, commercial realization of quantum computers. Since then, the firm has made significant inroads towards achieving this goal, which has been highlighted in the update unveiled today.

Firstly, this year, IBM is planning on releasing Qiskit runtimean execution environment that speeds up the execution of quantum circuits by as much as 100x. Qiskit runtime achieves this substantial speedup by reducing the latency in the communication between classical and quantum computers. By cutting this latency, workloads that take months to run today can be cut down to a matter of a few hours.

The Qiskit runtime rethinks the classical-quantum workload so that programs will be uploaded and executed on classical hardware located beside quantum hardware, slashing latencies emerging from communication between the users computer and the quantum processor.

One of the primary use cases of quantum computers is the simulation of quantum systems, which is an arduous task for classical computers since the computational complexity required to model a system grows exponentially with respect to its size. Today, a simulation of Lithium hydride (LiH) can take up to 100 days. But with the 100X speedup, this task can be done in one day.

Moreover, Qiskit runtime will be sizing up the capacity to run a greater variety of quantum circuits, allowing developers to run programs developed by others as a service in their own workloads and eventually tackling previously inaccessible problems with quantum computers. With help from the firm's OpenQASM3 assembly language, technologies designed on OpenShift, by 2023, IBM plans on debuting circuit libraries and advanced control systems for manipulating large qubit fabrics.

Cumulatively, IBM boldly claims that come 2023, its quantum systems will be powerful enough to explore major problems with a clear demonstratable advantage over classical computers.

Come 2025, IBM is confident that it will achieve "frictionless quantum computing", a turning point at which the barrier to entry into quantum development will be greatly tamed.

By then, we envision that developers across all levels of the quantum computing stack will rely upon on our advanced hardware with a cloud-based API, working seamlessly with high performance computing resources to push the limits of computation overalland include quantum computation as a natural component of their existing computation pipelines.

And a decade from now, in the 2030s, IBM hopes that our hardware and software prowess will reach the extent that we will be able to run billions and trillions of quantum circuits without even realizing that we are doing so. That would be the era of practical, full-scale commercial quantum computers.

IBM's new roadmap for quantum computing promises 100x speedups and then some - Neowin

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The risk of giving in to quantum progress – ComputerWeekly.com

Posted: at 8:54 am

Over the next few years the tech industry has a roadmap to overcome the challenges facing quantum computing. This will pave the way to growth in mainstream quantum computing to solve hard problems.

There are numerous opportunities, from finding a cure for cancer to the development of new, more sustainable materials and tackling climate change. But a recent short film on quantum ethics has highlighted the risks, which may be as profound as the Manhattan Project that led to two atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

One interviewee featured in the film, Ilana Wisby, CEO, Oxford Quantum Circuits said: We wont fully understand the impact of what we have until we have got the systems, but it will be revolutionising and will be lucrative for some.

The experts discussed the need for a debate across society to assess and appreciate the risk quantum computing will pose. Ilyas Khan, CEO Cambridge Quantum Computing said: We may be able to shift the boundaries of what can and cannot be done with machines.

Faye Wattleton, co-found EeroQ Quantum urged the innovators and policy makers to take a step back to consider the implications and its impact on humanity. If we can do in a few minutes what it would take 10,000 years to do with current technology then that requires careful consideration. From a societal perspective, what does this kind of power mean?

Just because a quantum computer makes it possible to solve an insoluble problem, does not mean it should be solved.

In the past, there was oversight and governance of technological breakthroughs like the printing press, which paved the way to mass media and the railways, which led to mass transit. But IT has become arrogant. Its proponents say that it moves far too quickly to be restrained by a regulatory framework. As an expert at a recent House of Lords Select Committee meeting warned, policy-makers are not very good at looking ahead at the long term impact of a new technological development. In the 1990s, who would have considered that the growth of the internet, social media and mobile phones would be a stimulant for fake news and a catalyst for rogue states to influence elections in other countries.

Khan describes the lack of controls on the internet like being asleep at the wheel. What are the implications of a quantum computing society? Perhaps, as Khan, says, society need to anticipate these issues, instead of being asleep at the wheel again.

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The risk of giving in to quantum progress - ComputerWeekly.com

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Lelystad airport, refugees and euthanasia on MPs’ list of controversial subjects – DutchNews.nl – DutchNews.nl

Posted: at 8:54 am

MPs have drawn up a list of controversial subjects which remain out of bounds to parliament until a new cabinet has been appointed after the March 17 general election.

The list has been drawn up earlier than usual because the current coalition is already acting in a caretaker capacity after resigning last month in the wake of the childcare benefit scandal.

The list includes opening Lelystad airport to commercial traffic, increasing paid parental leave, further limits to public sector pay and broad subjects such as climate.

Asylum issues, including tackling troublemakers and bringing in some refugees from camps on the Greek islands, have also been declared controversial.

Efforts to establish euthanasia rights for the elderly who are tired of life will also now be put on the backburner.

The idea of the list is to stop an outgoing government forcing unpopular or difficult measures through parliament at the last minute.

The DutchNews.nl team would like to thank all the generous readers who have made a donation in recent weeks. Your financial support has helped us to expand our coverage of the coronavirus crisis into the evenings and weekends and make sure you are kept up to date with the latest developments.

DutchNews.nl has been free for 14 years, but without the financial backing of our readers, we would not be able to provide you with fair and accurate news and features about all things Dutch. Your contributions make this possible.

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Lelystad airport, refugees and euthanasia on MPs' list of controversial subjects - DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl

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MPs reveal how they will vote on voluntary assisted dying – Sunshine Coast Daily

Posted: at 8:54 am

Queensland MPs are set to vote on sweeping euthanasia legislation this year, after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made it a key election pledge.

The Courier-Mail went to all MPs for comment to seek their view on the issue, as they await draft legislation from the Queensland Law Reform Commission which is due by May.

See what your MP had to say in response to the following questions: Do you support voluntary assisted dying? Will you vote in favour of voluntary assisted dying when the legislation comes before the parliament?

See where your local MP stands on this sensitive issue.

"We won't be making any decisions until we see the new Bill. I can't make an informed decision without it (the legislation)."

"I am in favour of voluntary assisted dying with appropriate safeguards, which I am confident can be achieved as has happened elsewhere. It is an issue of choice and compassion for people with terminal illnesses, and these people should have a choice about their own lives if they are in intolerable pain or no longer have any quality of life."

Member for Mudgeeraba Ros Bates

"Voluntary assisted dying is a sensitive issue for all Queenslanders. LNP MPs are right now listening to the people they represent, the people they'll vote for. They're also waiting to see the legislation so they know exactly what they are voting on. Queenslanders would expect nothing less. Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli has already granted all members of the party a conscience vote."

His office referred to a statement from an LNP spokesman that said:

Member for Maiwar Michael Berkman

"Yes. The Greens long standing position is to support voluntary assisted dying. The government has not yet released the legislation, but I support voluntary assisted dying subject to safeguards as recommended by the Parliamentary Health Committee and consistent with the Bill proposed by Professors White and Wilmott of QUT."

"As an MP my job is to represent my community, not any personal beliefs. In annual surveys undertaken by myself, or the previous MP, an overwhelming number of Noosa respondents support VAD, and I had advocated for the inquiry. It is vital that issues important to Queenslanders are brought into Chamber for all voices to be heard, both for (and) against."

Will you vote in favour of voluntary assisted dying when the legislation comes before the parliament? "Yes, however given we have not seen the draft Bill, if there is any part that raises major concerns and is not addressed, I may ask or support amendments."

Member for Callide Colin Boyce

Did not respond.

"Yes".

"Yes. I believe terminally ill people should have the right to end their life on their own terms - if that's what they choose to do. I've reviewed the Parliamentary Committee report on voluntary assisted dying, including excerpts from the 4,719 written submissions the committee received which outlined a very clear and urgent need for this reform. Naturally, I have some questions around eligibility, the training for those involved and what safeguards will be in place to ensure these decisions are truly voluntary - but I hope (and expect) these will be addressed in the upcoming report from the Queensland Law Reform Commission. We need a legal framework that's compassionate, safe and practical for Queenslanders, and I'm sure that's what the QLRC will deliver.

"While I have a personal view on the legalisation of voluntary assisted dying, I also strongly believe that I was elected to represent the views of those living in Cooper. We are currently speaking with people in my electorate about this issue and canvassing their views on how they'd like me to vote. We have an active survey we're encouraging people to respond to (available via my social media), in addition to having conversations with people while we're doorknocking and during mobile offices. At this point, there appears to be strong support from our local community. Cooper residents are invited to contact me to share their view on this important issue."

Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher

"This reform is something I am more than happy to support, as I did during the election, and the Government intends to introduce this piece of legislation in late May 2021.

"People have seen their loved ones laying in a palliative care bed, gasping for breath, and terminally ill, knowing their life is going to end. They're going through it in a dreadful and painful way, and the family got to sit there and watch them suffer for days, and sometimes weeks. I'm proud to be a part of the Palaszczuk Government that has taken a very considered and conscientious approach to taking community consultation before drafting the legislation. I will await the draft legislation from the Queensland Law Reform Commission and any committee recommendations that may follow. I will vote according to my conscience after listening to my community."

"Voluntary assisted dying is a sensitive issue for all Queenslanders. LNP MPs are right now listening to the people they represent, the people they'll vote for. They're also waiting to see the legislation, so they know exactly what they are voting on. Queenslanders would expect nothing less. Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli has already granted all members of the party a conscience vote."

"Voluntary assisted dying is a sensitive issue for all Queenslanders and I'm listening to the people I represent. I'm also waiting to see the legislation, so I know exactly what I'm voting on - my constituents would expect nothing less. The Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli has already granted me and all members of the party a conscience vote."

"I support Voluntary Assisted Dying as an option for people who enter a stage in life when this option becomes a serious consideration. It is very complex and deeply personal issue and I appreciate the Premier's decision to allow all MPs to cast a conscience vote on the issue when the time comes for draft legislation to be examined."

Opposition Leader and Member for Broadwater David Crisafulli

"Voluntary assisted dying is a sensitive issue for all Queenslanders. LNP MPs are right now listening to the people they represent, the people they'll vote for. They're also waiting to see the legislation so they know exactly what they are voting on. Queenslanders would expect nothing less. I have granted all members of the party a conscience vote."

"In principle I support voluntary assisted dying and I'll be looking closely at the legislation before making a decision."

"I do not support euthanasia on a moral basis. I believe that we should be doing all we can to protect and preserve life. I believe there should be more State and Federal investment in palliative care as a more ethical and humane option. I will not be voting for legislation that will legalise euthanasia in Queensland."

"I look forward to seeing the draft legislation from the QLRC and any subsequent committee recommendations. I support a conscience vote for all members of the parliament."

"I worked for many years supporting aged care workers before I was elected to Parliament. I saw workers pushed to the limit, I saw people who were desperately worried about their mum and dad; their grandparents and whether they were getting the care they needed, and I saw people suffer. I believe individuals and families should be empowered to consider all the options available in consultation with medical professionals, and that voluntary assisted dying should be one of those options. I'm committed, as part of the Palaszczuk Government, to tackling the big issues, and making the hard decisions, which is why our government will also invest $171 million into a new palliative care plan. That means more nurses, more resources and more care for individuals and families confronting these profoundly complex and personal journeys."

Member for Algester Leeanne Enoch

"Many of us, my family included, have watched loved ones face end of life challenges. It's heartbreaking, it's painful, and sometimes it confronts an individual's sense of dignity. More can be done to provide greater comfort for people approaching the end of their lives. Individuals and families should be empowered to consider all of the options available, in consultation with their medical professionals. I support voluntary assisted dying legislation."

"Voluntary assisted dying is a highly emotional issue for many Queenslanders. As the Member for Bulimba, I will carefully consider the draft legislation, any committee recommendations that may follow and the thoughts of my community."

"Voluntary assisted dying and other end of life choices are extremely complex and deeply personal decisions for every Queenslander and their loved ones to make. It is a choice that I believe every Queenslander should have the right to. That is why I support voluntary assisted dying and will be voting in favour of it when it comes before Parliament."

"As a local member I will listen to the people that I represent. There is no legislation currently before the parliament so there is no legislation or idea on what to vote on. I will wait to see the legislation so my community will know exactly what the legislation will include. My community would expect nothing less."

"I will await the draft legislation from the QLRC and any committee recommendations that may follow. I will vote according to my conscience after listening to my community."

"Voluntary assisted dying is a sensitive issue for all Queenslanders. I acknowledge that the experience of watching a loved-one struggle and succumb to a terminal illness is confronting and heart wrenching. All LNP MPs are right now listening to the people they represent. We are also waiting to see the legislation so we know exactly what we are voting on. Queenslanders would expect nothing less. Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli has already granted all members of the party a conscience vote."

"Voluntary Assisted Dying is a personal issue for my community with a lot of different opinions being voiced on the topic. People are wanting safe legislation that protects vulnerable people in our community while giving choice to people facing end of life. I am looking forward to reading the draft legislation and the committee report before I vote."

Member for McConnel Grace Grace

"I will be looking at the draft legislation when it's available and any report or recommendations the committee may make. I continue to listen to my community on this issue, as I have been, and I will vote according to my conscience and what my community is saying to me."

"Yes".

"While I look forward to reviewing the detail of the QLRC's draft legislation, my personal beliefs are such that I am predisposed to support VAD as an option for capable individuals to choose alongside quality palliative care."

Did not respond.

"Yes unequivocally, my experiences with the passing of both my parents has led me inescapably to the conclusion that the choice to decide how we pass from this world is absolutely vital. Both my late parents would have made very different choices on this matter and to me that dual approach demonstrated why the choice itself is so important."

Will you vote in favour of voluntary assisted dying? "Yes I will."

Member for Traeger Robbie Katter

"No, I do not support the euthanasia of human beings. With regards to end-of-life care, which can no doubt be a very difficult time for an individual and their loved ones, I would like to see greater State and Federal investment in the delivery of palliative care and careful reforms in this field wherever necessary. Furthermore I would like to encourage the Palaszczuk Labor Government to spend as much time on saving lives in Queensland as it does on devising social legislation designed to take lives. For example, the government should be preoccupying itself with investing in and fast-tracking the delivery of dialysis treatment, chemotherapy and CT scanners in all rural and regional hospitals.

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MPs reveal how they will vote on voluntary assisted dying - Sunshine Coast Daily

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Letters to the editor – February 3, 2021 – Times of Malta

Posted: at 8:54 am

Euthanasia

We read with interest the article Euthanasia the killing of mercy, by Tonio Fenech (January 27). We fully agree that compassion is sticking by the patient.

In our view, hastening death to end suffering and indignity, if that is what the person concerned clearly wishes, is indeed showing compassion and respect for them and in no way precludes sticking with and loving them for as long as they want, nor the opportunity to share forgiveness, give thanks and say goodbye.

We also agree with Fenechs let us debate if we must. That debate should happen now. For people such as Sam Debattista, who is asking society to show empathy and give her control over her life, justice delayed is justice denied.

Palliative care is, of course, the best choice for many and should be their right, if that is what they want.

We would never support pressure on anyone to opt for assisted dying if they are not in an emotional or psychological condition to make an informed, clear choice. Neither would we support euthanasia without an unambiguous prior indication of consent by the person concerned.

Assisted dying and euthanasia do not take away our control over our lives. Clearly, they do the opposite for those who believe they have a right to choose when to end their suffering.

If properly regulated, decisions would not move from the individual to their relatives, doctors etc. Strict controls should ensure that a patients explicit wishes are respected. In the absence of a recorded wish, there should be no authority to proceed. This is why we advocate the introduction of legally-binding advance directives, or living wills, so there is no question about anyones choices.

Finally, Fenech suggests that medicine would need to take a step back from research into more effective palliative care so that research can go towards more effective killing. We disagree; one does not replace the other and methods to help a person die peacefully and at their own request need far less research than yet further advances in palliative care.

Edward Gatt, Sliema, and Joanna Williams, Xagra members of the Malta Humanist Association

Objections filed against Burmarrad roundabout plans

Traffic calming plans? Traffic is already at a standstill at the moment, God knows what there will be in summer. Yes, we need something else to slow traffic on that stretch of road. Malcolm Sammut

Its Infrastructure Malta (Government) against the people. Drin Zerafa

IM and TM keep taking the public for a ride. The attitude is just we rule, you obey. The consultation process is just a fake exercise. The roadworks have created new hazards to the most vulnerable road users. Joe Mallia

While at it, can someone go and see what type of third-world country passageway residents in a block of apartments in Patri Pelaju Mifsud Street, ebbu have to make do with, just because some greedy gnome is opposing to works being carried out? Malcolm Mifsud

Has anyone noticed that the PN is conspicuous by its absence too when it comes to environmental protection? If it were not for some NGOs and some sections of the media, Maltas business tycoons would just trample over the population with no mercy. Patrizio Soluz

ERA stops illegal Dingli roadworks

Infrastructure Malta, the state agency tasked with upgrading Maltas road network, has 15 days from the notice to restore the site to its natural state.

Works were stopped last week by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) after workers spilled some of the soil excavated for the new pipeline over the edge of the road, covering some roadside flora, he said. Unbelievable. A. Formosa

Oooops, Ian Borgs plans have hit a snag, a small one but a snag in any case! Paul Vella

Government institutions playing cat and mouse to justify their existence. V. Buhagiar

Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@timesofmalta.com. Please include your full name, address and ID card number. The editor may disclose personal information to any person or entity seeking legal action on the basis of a published letter.

Independent journalism costs money. Support Times of Malta for the price of a coffee.

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Letters to the editor - February 3, 2021 - Times of Malta

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Monthly Archives: February 2021

Cyberpunk Freedom Fighters: Rise of the Red Hand by Olivia Chadha – tor.com

International Space Station will be visible in the sky above Pennsylvania this week – PhillyVoice.com

Spacewalking astronauts will install new cameras and wrap up space station power upgrades today. Watch it live! – Space.com

Quantum computing breakthrough uses cryogenics to scale machines to thousands of times their current size – The Independent

This company is using quantum-inspired algorithms to help create the OLED displays of the future – ZDNet

IBM’s new roadmap for quantum computing promises 100x speedups and then some – Neowin

The risk of giving in to quantum progress – ComputerWeekly.com

Lelystad airport, refugees and euthanasia on MPs’ list of controversial subjects – DutchNews.nl – DutchNews.nl

MPs reveal how they will vote on voluntary assisted dying – Sunshine Coast Daily

Letters to the editor – February 3, 2021 – Times of Malta

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