Happy valentine's day ❤️

"interaction with police" what are we doing here?

each justification for police interference isn't there: traffic (no), risk of crowd crush (historic route, small protest = no), separation of protestors from counterprotestors or from some other thing (going in opp direction of herzog, no counter-protestors = no)

just 5000 was the expectation (small protest) and the gov invokes special powers, the police block a march on a historic route, they show up in their hundreds, and the proposed march to parliament (during a time of very low traffic) is in the opposite direction of where the president of israel is.

We're doing it lads, sortition-based hiring

one for the data vis people

Perhaps not in my lifetime or yours but eventually suits will be seen like these

in a heating climate, it’s obviously ridiculous to forbid workers from weather-suitable attire (shorts). creates discomfort for no reason and drives up energy use.

filling out a JobSeeker application for lulz and getting even more @davidsligar.bsky.social pilled than I was before

AUKUS ideologues seem quiet of late

for all trump’s belligerence about what lies within the scope of US hegemony (“the western hemisphere”), it is revealing what implicitly lies outside it….

as the liberal order collapses, perhaps we will move back to a systemic market in tributes and ransoms

France at the UN Security Council: "The military operation which led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro runs counter to the principle of peaceful dispute resolution and the principle of non use of force. Violations of the UN Charter... chips away at the very foundation of the international order."

bass players try too hard to find the "perfect" tone based on what sounds sick to their ears in their bedroom (often with mid scoop). in reality the ideal frequencies in a band are totally different, and it changes from room to room. optimal to leave roughly flat and maximise discretion of engineer

rules-based order for thee, imperial prerogative for me

Six countries warn that Trump's attack on Venezuela sets an "extremely dangerous precedent". Six countries. Where is the leadership in this world? All Australia could muster is vague waffle. www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

So like, what if Maduro is somehow acquitted?

mind bogglingly pathetic for the west to issue statements declaring support for international law while staying silent about the brazenly illegal invasion and kidnapping

‘We continue to support international law’ Anthony Albanese

lol sorry this is awful prose - abstraction sandwich held together by mixed metaphors.

outstanding fireworks in sydney - really going above and beyond. unrelated i have an idea for easy budget saving in nsw

my 4yo son’s favourite word is “actually” - going to make a good smart arse poster

what a timeline when the Democrat presidential front runner is openly leaning in to looksmaxing critique from toxic right wing manosphere influencers

Due to disability, I barely have energy to clean my apartment, yet I work for a living. I'm not eligible for welfare because my partner is financially responsible for me while simultaneously not sharing her income with me. Australia's safety net. #endpartnerincometesting

Hanson is calling for tougher hate speech laws, while she is currently in court trying to appeal against her loss in a hate speech legal case. A fact not mentioned by a single outlet covering this story.

excellent piece on online mmt's schtick of using word game tricks to sound pseudo-profound and transformative - @jomichell.bsky.social criticalfinance.org/2025/12/19/w...

I think this post nails the actual problem, for researchers at least—AI hallucinations would simply not be a problem in academic work if we’d not normalized citation-as-signaling rather than actual engagement—you can only cite a fake paper if you’re not in the habit of reading the papers you cite

In response to the reappearance of MMT, I have, somewhat reluctantly, written up where the current crop of 'pop MMT' goes wrong. The short version: yes the central bank issues money; no this doesn't change anything. criticalfinance.org/2025/12/19/w...

When we most need clear thinking abt threats (ISIS, gun availability, racist & lethal ideologies), & elevation of acts of courage, & care for all communities hurting, Minns, unforgivably, serves up inflammatory conflation of anti-genocide rallies w the terror attack Feel 🤢 abt what 2026 will bring

Unpopular view, but I do think the progressive drift away from prioritising free expression has made us more vulnerable to these moves. Lowering criteria for speech restrictions from objective risk to subjective harm and vulnerability leaves us without a coherent framework to push back.

Linking the march across the bridge to the massacre is disgusting and everyone doing so should be deeply ashamed of their giving tacit support for genocide www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

crazy stuff - deliberate law breaking for decades and as to consequences, well 🤷

At the moment it’s limited to public assemblies (protesters the easiest targets), but logically why stop there? Contentious discourse in the media, online, running for office, in parliament etc could all cause disharmony.

Shocking to blame Gaza protesters (which include his own MPs), but even more disturbing is the rationale for protest repression. It isn’t about risk at the event. It’s that expressing contentious political views might vaguely undermine community harmony. The problem is political expression itself.

When police and ministers can wholesale shut down public assemblies across an entire state, via administrative decision, without a defined or contestable risk threshold, without judicial authorisation, and keep them shut for months… truly a grim moment for liberal democracy

whatever the problem, in nsw banning protest will be the solution

Interesting discussion of dating-app anomie among men and women. IMO a Polanyi angle would fit well: apps disembed mate-selection from social contexts, fostering consumer-market logics that strip away informal norms that once regulated expectations, behaviour and meaning jacobin.com/2025/12/dati...

I've student or worked at several unis and while many have administration / IT problems Macquarie is singularly bad omg

no social media and finally kids just being kids again, thanks Albo 🙏 youtube.com/shorts/GfSaU...

The AFR run a 2 year campaign to get the ALP to weaken the changes to super tax concessions to make it easier to avoid paying the tax. The ALP does it. The AFR criticises the ALP for weakening the policy because people can avoid paying the tax. My column #ThePoint thepoint.com.au/news/251213

Legislation passed in the Queensland Parliament tonight to allow imposing ankle trackers on 10 year olds - "it will let the police know everything they do and where they are" according to the Minister for Youth Justice.

“Let them be kids!” But Victoria passed the Adult Time for Violent Crime legislation which can send 14 year olds to adult jails. Which is it you want them to be? Adults or children? Or simply not seen or heard at all?

A very normal thing for any dictatorship to do. Not sure why the fuss.

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” It costs less to house people.

when did everything become matcha this, matcha that? was this a “green tea” rebrand?

retirement villages are scams

lmao

all looks darkly comic after Victorian Labor’s law and order spectacle about treating 14yo as adults

Stacking out the machinery of government with progressives is good actually.