I do think, in general, I’m a literate reader in the information environment, but i genuinely cannot parse from the things I read whether AI is a Silicon Valley hype scam to pump up share prices, a doomed structural response to declining profitability, or the end of the world. Or something else?

The government's banning of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was UNLAWFUL, rules the High Court. This is a massive vindication for those who fought Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people - which is facilitated by our government.

They shouldn't tear down the Medley Building, but not for the heritage reasons that crowd the start of the article. New uni buildings are ordinarily worse than what they replace: offices without bookshelves, horrid open-plan offices, classes with bells and whistles but less flexibility, etc., etc.

Waleed Aly gives a primer that all police need to heed

If the cap fits. My @smh @theage cartoon.

'What we have witnessed suggests a dangerous drift away from the values Australia has long claimed to cherish: freedom of expression, the rule of law and democratic accountability. When the protection of power is placed above the protection of citizens, democracy begins to erode from within.'

ROFL #libspill #AusPol

Exciting to see this being promoted online after much work by Grace, the contributing authors, and the Te Papa Press team. It is due to be released in May.

Astonishing how Costello recalls events from an evening nearly 15 months ago (www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3609...), yet still can't recall the source of the tobacco industry friendly "mystery document" she passed on to the MOH to inform tobacco policy.

In any dispute between a tax-dodging foreign corporation and NZ workers, there is never any doubt whose side Van Velden is on.

One thing that astonishes me about the Herzog visit is that Israel has murdered more journalists than any other state in the 21st century, and he hasn’t faced a single question about this (to my knowledge) from the Australian media

Absolutely huge crowd in Melbourne right now. People from all backgrounds, ages and professions - united in opposition to genocide and war. This is what social cohesion looks like.

Australian Census on University Staff Wellbeing results are out. Every uni recorded scores indicating high/very high psych risk. And in news surprising no one, "only senior execs and deans rated their workplaces as medium or low risk while all other staff groups reported high-risk conditions."

"A free society is loud, it is often controversial and offends some, and is frequently inconvenient for others and those in power. That is precisely why its protection is essential." Read Jewish Council member, Stephen Heydt’s piece in full at: www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Welcome one and all to that special time in Australian politics when we can say that it is officially on

“Wellington's sewage spill is just one of many examples of public service and infrastructure enshittification, begun by Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson, and continued by neoliberal factions across government, business, media, finance, and the public.” - Josh Drummond A must read folks #nzpol

'Britain’s construction quality crisis isn’t a mystery, but the logical outcome of political choices. It’s the result of deregulation, privatisation and allowing the primacy of cost-cutting profiteers to supplant quality control and craft.' Much the same could be said of NZ.

ABC news publishing articles w titles like: "Protesters were punched, pushed, and arrested but were NSW Police actions excessive?" Like Ed Husic, many're more concerned that people engaged in peaceful prayer were attacked by police & moved on faster than neo-Nazis rallying at NSW Parliament

Holy shit . Nsw cops broke Scott Ludlums rib. He was an awesome leader in Freo. And more, so much more.

Interesting to see Taiwanese Hokkien poetry become a bestseller focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026...

The ABC has belatedly discovered that the Jewish community is diverse. Well put @joshbornstein.bsky.social youtube.com/watch?v=kAsx... #auspol

The Teals have shown much greater moral courage on this issue than many in Labor. It reminds me of how some pricipled Liberals (the sort of people now pushed out of the party) publicly condemned Howard's demonisation of asylum seekers, while the Labor caucus went along with Howard's policies.

"The Police chose violence". Veteran journo and sports broadcaster Peter Lalor was at the Sydney Herzog protest, got pepper sprayed. His account #auspol michaelwest.com.au/peter-lalor-...

Worth watching this in full. The statement is more powerful than this quote alone. Here is is from USA Today, with alt text. Also! Rich Ruohonen is a personal injury lawyer and the oldest athlete to ever represent the United States in a Winter Games at 54 years old.

Yesterday Isaac Herzog tried to gaslight Australians, saying anyone arguing against his visit is also against Israel’s right to exist. He also openly rallied for support for Israel’s illegal invasion of Gaza. He’s not here to mourn, this is a calculated political move. #auspol

How could they possibly be expected to know these things or check the ABC website? They're only the national intelligence agency. Clearly Parliament must give them more power so they can find this sort of highly secret information!

Laura Tingle on the money as always. Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich: "We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state".

"We are disappointed that it is a Labor government – a government we worked to elect – that has presided over the terrible erosion of civil liberties in NSW and we are deeply distressed that it is a Labor government that enabled the violence we saw against protesters at Town Hall last night"

Good investigative work from ABC journos, but a gutless 'both-sides' headline and lead para. The preliminary evidence from these three incidents seems clear: police acted with excessive and brutal force. And on the face of it, created a serious threat to public safety. #nswpol

Since when is the President of Israel the head of state of all Jews?

Israel & the USA’s obscenity: “The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius,” al-Bursh said. “When a body is exposed to energy exceeding 3,000 degrees combined with massive pressure and oxidation, the fluids boil instantly. The tissues vaporise and turn to ash. It is chemically inevitable.”

A particularly stupid and shortsighted decision. Absurd that $10 million is spent strengthening it and they then try to save money by getting rid of the only person who can play it. If NZ could afford this role with a population of 1 million, how is that it can't afford it now with 5 million?

I can vouch that NSW police act like this in western Sydney and towns with high Aboriginal populations every single day, and are in fact largely untouchable. The difference today is the number of white people who saw what police do, usually with impunity.

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW: “.. In our in-progress research, we discovered that AI tools didn’t reduce work, they consistently intensified it.” hbr.org/2026/02/ai-d...

Why the fuck would we “socially cohere” for monsters?  theshot.net.au/uncategorize...

He lied and lied to get into power. He expelled MPs who did the right thing He pretended migrants were the source of all our problems He watched a genocide taking place and protected the perpetrator. He criminalised decent citizens who spoke out. I could go on. Starmer is not a decent man.

There are compelling arguments against joining Australia, but Palmer shows a poor understanding of how federal systems work in practice and his logic is often muddled. #auspol #nzpol 🧵

Assaulting people while they pray peacefully in public is a new low for the Australian police. Shame on them. #Herzog #Gaza

Read executive officer, Sarah Schwartz's opinion piece in the Financial Review today about why Herzog doesn't represent Australian Jewry and shouldn't have been invited in the first place: www.afr.com/policy/forei...

This is a pretty good report by the ABC (relatively) in which the official lies are obvious to anyone not invested in believing offical lies. Minns is a skilled caster-of-doubt aka liar. There will be no meaningful investigation of the police & that should appal us. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Australian democracy is in a dangerous position when the major parties move in lock-step on issues like AUKUS and the Herzog visit - issues central to the country's place in the world and its values - completely ignoring the views of much of the population and trying to avoid all scrutiny.

This one feels particularly relevant today. Vale Jon Kudelka.

NSW Police used pepper spray, helicopters, horses and blockades as part of a new program designed to bring the community together. Read more: theshovel.com.au/2026/02/10/s...

Zali Steggall points out the consequences of inviting Isaac Herzog given the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestine was 'highly foreseeable' live.thepoint.com.au/2026/02/the-...

“ABC NEWS Verify is looking for video from last night's Sydney protest to forensically examine what went on, and to unpack the competing narratives between protesters and police. All vision is welcome — not just of controversial events but also of the lead up to, and aftermath of flashpoints.”

Some of our staff were at the Sydney rally last night and report that the degree of police brutality was terrifying and unhinged.

We knew from the moment we heard it that “social cohesion” would be one of those Orwellian terms which would be used to cover all manner of state sanctioned abuse and deprivation of civic freedoms. It fuels the very unrest it pretends to seek to quell.

'Social cohesion' in action ...

Quite aside from any constitutional questions, why on earth would people in Aotearoa want to join with a country whose police behave like this?