Four items in the news this week for me were astounding.

1.They diagnosed scurvy in a patient in Western Australia in the 21st Century! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-23/scurvy-case-detected-western-australia/104503318

2.In Nevada in the last election 14,000 voters went to the polls and voted for “None of the Above”. While this may seem like a protest vote what on earth are they expecting as an outcome in an election which is on a knife edge? If this happens on the 5th of November it could well mean tipping one candidate over the edge …🙄 Technically, “none of these candidates” can’t win an election, so the winner goes to the next candidate with the most votes. Think of it as a statement vote more than anything else but then why not look for better candidates and start that process er before election day ??

3.Displaced girl carries little sister on her shoulders for more than two kilometres in Gaza seeking medical treatment.The little sister had reportedly been hit by a car, and the young girl had been carrying her barefoot. I looked at the photo in horror. Was this real, was it doctored? It’s so difficult to tell these things but worse than that is our ability to scroll through. I saw it – was not sure – but chose not to share. I am ashamed I did this and a very good friend pulled me up on it as we must register the horror of what is happening in the Middle East.

• https://news.sky.com/video/displaced-girl-carries-little-sister-on-her-shoulders-for-more-than-two-kilometres-in-gaza-seeking-medical-treatment-13238451

4.Queensland is voting for its next government tomorrow. And the debates have been raging about cost of living, climate change, criminal justice and so much more. But it is this intervention by the Katters which I found astounding – the fact that they can even contemplate rolling back women’s rights over abortion. I for one will do all I can for this not to happen.

• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/10/my-abortion-is-acceptable-simply-because-it-is-a-decision-i-made-i-am-thankful-to-be-in-australia

Are we heading backwards in the world in our thoughts, in our actions and in the pursuit of our rights, in our expectations, in what we rightly wish for us and our children and the children all over the world?