Royce Kurmelovs

Just had to block someone for trying to trojan horse anti-Jewish hatred on my feed, so I feel compelled to once again post the terms of engagement for my socials.

Goodbye Debbie.

Discussions with Board of Peace 'on hold' due to Iran war, Indonesia says Indonesia's foreign minister said talks on U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza "Board of Peace," of which the Southeast Asian nation is a key troop-contributing ​member, were on hold due to the Middle ...

Indonesia may be realizing the drawbacks to Prabowo’s recent charm offensive seeking to ingratiate himself with the Trump administration. I expect we might see some recalibration in coming weeks: www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Motion by leave A motion moved to suspend standing orders by Senator Gallagher was agreed to. Senator Gallagher moved a motion to discharge the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 from the Notice Paper - debate in progress

We love to see it. ⚰️

‘We got there!’: Text messages reveal Woodside’s negotiating tactics Private text messages between Woodside officials and senior Australian decision-makers lift the lid on how the industry engages with government to get results.

"A Woodside spokesperson said it was wrong to describe what took place as lobbying, pointing to provisions within federal environment laws that require the government to consult on conditions it attaches to environmental approvals processes."

Sea Levels Are Already Higher Than Many Scientists Think, New Study Shows

“from a global perspective, the findings indicate that hundreds of millions more people — particularly in… Southeast Asian & Pacific nations — are living closer to sea level than widely assumed by Western experts & policymakers”

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/c...

All the involved groups are denying the reports that Kurdish fighters have entered Iran

And Anne Aly was sent out to take the bullet.

Labor explores more changes to home battery rebate in cost-cutting push If implemented, it would be the second tweak in six months as the government casts a wide net in its search for ways to cut spending before the May budget.

The Albanese government is modelling changes to its generous home battery subsidy scheme that could have the $7 billion policy scaled back for the second time in six months as Labor casts a wide net in its search for ways to cut spending before the May budget.
www.afr.com/policy/energ...

The largest daily newspaper in Israel published an opinion piece by someone arguing for the total redrawing of the Middle Eastern borders— first by dismantling Lebanon and Syria and reconstituting them into half a dozen or more smaller, ethnic statelets.

I discovered something that just nauseated me to my core today - Polymarket has a huge number of bets running on climate impacts and disasters

An entirely new flavour of disaster capitalism

Chimpanzees Are Really Into Crystals

This article is amazing.

‘We never imagined this’: the Cypriot village on edge after RAF Akrotiri drone strike Evacuations near RAF base have reignited debate as Cypriots question the risks of hosting western military sites

‘We never imagined this’: the Cypriot village on edge after RAF Akrotiri drone strike

To be clear, the Australian government itself is not without blame here. It forced the agency to seek external, private funding which created a vulnerability and used it as cover for policy goals. I encourage you to read the story and my other reporting to see how the various pieces fit together.

New: Internal tension at the Associated Press over use of AI. One of the AP newsroom leaders leading the company's AI initiatives told staff that many editors preferred an AI-written article to a human one, and told them when it comes to using AI in the newsroom "resistance is futile."

Drillers cannot increase production quickly enough to solve an oil supply crisis caused by Donald Trump’s war in Iran, industry bosses have warned, saying a big rise in output would take months to materialise. ft.trib.al/6JmcOUA

If I recall, Camus had a few things to say about Nietzsche.

Far-right ‘gangster morality’ and the search for meaning: why you should read Camus Philosopher and writer Albert Camus defined gangster morality as ‘an inexhaustible round of triumph and revenge, defeat and resentment’. Sound familiar?

'Rule by far-right movements hence does not “conserve” anything. It enshrines what Camus calls “gangster morality”: “an inexhaustible round of triumph and revenge, defeat and resentment.”'

US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges Religious freedom group says 200 troops sent complaints of superiors using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war

"US military commanders have been invoking extremist Christian rhetoric about biblical “end times” to justify involvement in the Iran war to troops, according to complaints made to a watchdog group."

I appreciate the meme game, but please don't share my stuff in threads that may be defamatory.

Albanese government rejected advice on Tasmanian salmon farming impact before passing pro-industry laws FoI documents show ministers ignored recommendation for fresh inquiry that could have reduced or paused farming

At this point, the Environment Department (and new EPA) exists to make recommendations that can be overruled as a political signal to industry.

Albanese government rejected advice on Tasmanian salmon farming impact before passing pro-industry laws FoI documents show ministers ignored recommendation for fresh inquiry that could have reduced or paused farming

Far out.

“The environment department advised the government in late 2024 that it should revoke a 2012 decision that allowed salmon farming to expand …”

Data centre power emissions double over five years Some of Australia’s top server space providers say big rises in their reported carbon output do not fully reflect their green energy aspirations.

Some of Australia’s biggest data centre operators have more than doubled their reported carbon emissions over the past five years, as the exponential growth of the sector leads to a major rise in demand on the power grid.

www.afr.com/policy/energ...

And if I recall it wasn't because of anything the Libs did: it was because their bite share dropped so low it skewed the math against the Greens.

In Australian politics, the product is never the problem, it's always the sales job.

a cartoon character in a suit and tie stands in front of a fire escape ALT: a cartoon character in a suit and tie stands in front of a fire escape

Basically the entire document is this meme:

Recommendations Part 1.

These recommendations are interesting. Note: i) the creation of a Red Team to read Labor's mind, ii) the need for more activists on the ground, iii) the acknowledgement the membership of the party is aging, iv) throw good money after bad attacking the Teals.

The posters excerpt.

There's more. Apparently the Coalition needed more "keyboard warriors". This seems to foreshadow the Coalition becoming the party of posters and trolls basically like the Republicans and the Russian government. I expect lots of use of the words "soy cuck" next election.

More Teals.

The official line of the Liberal Party is "All politicians are political." Will keep that in mind next time their MPs demand someone "put politics aside". Another important lesson learned here, apparently, is the Coalition need to fight dirtier, do more astroturfing.

The Teals excerpt.

The message here seems to be "Wilson won his seat but at what cost?" It also a) does not mention "climate change", the issue that motivates the Teals and b) falsely characterises them as a "party".

There's not much hope for the Coalition if they can't even get "know my enemy" right.