Go Albo! “I think action on climate change is the entry fee to credibility and to engagement,” responding to a question about America’s standing in the Pacific region. “This isn’t some academic argument,” he said. “This is a matter of an existential threat.” www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

Serious scholars have examined what happens when we change the number of H1-B visas issued. Cities that get more H1-B immigrants subsequently see the wages of natives *rise* substantially. Skilled immigrants bring new ideas, fill labor shortages and make us all more productive.

A $100k “price” for H1-B visas is like a tariff on STEM labor. And the first rule of tariffs is clear: never tax your inputs — that just makes American firms less competitive than their foreign competitors.

“Personally, I just like to make sh!t up ‘cos reading is boring. But people voted for me and I can build golf courses, so my gut feel on medicine is probably right.” JFC. What kind of world is this????!

Good. One evil does not justify the sustained perpetration of another. We need to treat all peoples of being of equal worth, and that is not what is happening in Gaza Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal Recognize a Palestinian State www.nytimes.com/2025/09/21/w...

Snout inspection time everybody!

Great analogy! (Love how many macroeconomic processes have really tangible micro analogies)

Melbourne Spring Weather: patches of warm sun tempered with Antarctic gale force winds

So love this!! Brilliant 😊

*TRUTH* Standing up to bullies is the one and only way. They cave much quicker than you think. Bullies are weakness showboating as strength (speaking here from much primary & secondary school experience) 🌮 TACO TACO TACO 🌮

After a gap of a few too many years, committing to this year’s #inktober #inktober2025 (full marathon) inktober.com/rules Now to go ponder a story board ….

*SIGH*

Wow. Massive step in the AI race: the confidence shown by banning outright is pretty mind blowing. China really is cutting the US out of the loop now. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

This article by @brianklaas.bsky.social is brilliant. Brian’s my go-to guy on all things autocracy. Measured, knowledgeable, factual & an amazingly relatable narrative style. Just brilliant articles. Brian’s Substack is well worth a subscription. substack.com/@brianklaas/...

Headlines matter. Framing matters. AP: it’s about democracy NYT: it’s about a political fight

Just another coffee photo, ‘cos the mojo is strong with this one

Icon. Late Night w/ Letterman was an absolute staple of my UCB Grad School years. Still the GOAT 😊

Agree 1,500%, even 1,600%

Random post, but these guys are bloody awesome mechanics. (Burwood, Melb, AUS) Keeping this ol’ beast & my Mum’s ‘98 Mazda Metro rolling www.autoplus.com.au/mechanic/bur...

Good l. State definitions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ speech is not OK

Great! Power of collective action: more of this please 😊

“This is what it looks like when a society’s elite rolls over in the face of authoritarianism. It never ends well.”

Good God. Screw you, Trump, you corrupt orange asshat (Ps. Aussies aren’t gonna shut up just ‘cos you think you’re a big man. We don’t cower that way)

This looks like fun (well, in a horror-show kinda way)! 10pm Wednesday Channel 4 UK (In Aus atm but must find a way to tune in 😊) www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

'The Optimist' A good way to start the week, and one of many robots to be found in the 20206 Tranmsissions calendar, now funding on Kickstarter - bit.ly/Transmission...

Hoping it’s because we are getting close to Halloween! 🎃 🤣

“Right now, batteries weigh 50x the amount of fuel to store the same energy. Another challenge is the planes don’t get lighter as the journey progresses like traditionally powered planes that burn fuel as they go.” A most excellent engineering challenge!😊 www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/b...

Cool intro to the Earth Biogenome Project (link in the article) … and who doesn’t love our cute Aussie spiders? 🕷️ share.google/XvZI57IbEdNU...

I may be oversensitive, but this seems troubling. And you don't have to think too hard to see an economic angle here, too.

This guy’s good!! (Fordhams Milk Bar, Melbourne)

Man - I know Spring has officially started here, but damn it’s cold! 🥶 For those lured to Australia for its climate: beware! Melbourne winters really suck C’mon Spring - move faster!!!! ☀️

From NYT: “Safe & Beautiful Emergency Ops Center” - sheesh. You can see the typically authoritarian 1984-like weird juxtaposition of words (ie., ‘safe’ ’beautiful’ ’emergency’) creeping into the organisational fabric of the US

'Fear of the Dark'

Um - severely, severely nsfw - but you can’t get more bogan Aussie suburbia than this! (…. and, yeah - word to the wise - do park clear of trailers on the street in Oz!! Made me laugh) youtu.be/7PTvxw4fc9M?...

Left is right, up is down, black is white. *SIGH* www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/u...

Wow! So simple, so so cool!! 90% efficiency. This is brilliant!

Oscar - coffee version 😀

I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.

Yay! 😊

“The White House has even gone so far as to create a loyalty rating system scoring over 500 companies on their “support of present and future administration initiatives.” “ Ho-lee sh!t This is not an economic policy that is going to end well. Personally, I’d like to score 10 or below …

A careful study of every populist episode since 1900 finds catastrophic consequences, which play out slowly. On average, incomes fall behind by nearly 15% over 15 years. For the U.S., this is a cost of about $13k per person per year. Over a lifetime, that's million bucks.

“Contrary to much popular opinion, college is not in the information transfer business; we are in the identity formation business.” Interesting piece on how to help people learn to think, rather than regurgitate www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...

…. because Dept of War resonates *so* much better with homeland deployment in Dem cities

First article I’ve read in a while that gives me a sense of hope.

I, too, like working in cafes ☕️ www.bbc.com/news/article...

On one level, it is embarrassing that a democratic leader facing down military aggression needed “protection” from a U.S. president, but that is the upside-down world we now inhabit—one in which the U.S. is a greater threat to Ukraine than it is to Russia.

Had to stop on this morning’s walk and just snap a pic. Look @ that blue!!! Wow. When I am not in Aus, that is what I miss: big blue, blue skies

*sigh* Doesn’t feel like too much of an exaggeration, tbh

This is pretty amazing! (In my case: my experience with the disease is via a diabetic dog, and he is such a trooper! Pic shows just his latest batch of needle tips. *sigh* Go, Oscar!)