David Wilson

The trouble with declaring “state capture” is that it ignores the choices people make all along the chain.

Wee reminder that inequality is what the rich don’t want us united about.
That’s why they peddle and inflame and get us fighting about identity stuff.
Stay on target.

‘A devastating force’: how recent Mediterranean storms turned to tragedies Atmospheric machine-gun has fired storm after deadly storm at the region this year, leaving a trail of widespread destruction

I continue to be baffled how every single scientist, journalist, communicator and researcher isn't screaming at the top of their lungs at the collapse of a survivable future for billions of people www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

YouTube video by Bureau of Meteorology Autumn 2026 Climate and Water long-range forecast, issued 26 February 2026

A look back at summer and a long-range forecast for autumn. Pass it on.
My turn to present for the Bureau of Meteorology.
#climate #weather #Australia
youtu.be/1J2PlPAB2BE?...

Suffered inappropriate treatment for endometriosis? Here's what to do If allegations that a surgeon performed surgery for "severe" endometriosis on women with little or no sign of the disease have you questioning your own treatment, here is where you can voice your conc...

What to do if you've been operated on by Simon Gordon, thanks to the ABC. If you're concerned about endometriosis symptoms, diagnosis or treatment: I recommend reading the info on endometriosis by the jean hailes organisation. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Hundreds join support group in wake of claims against gynaecologist More former patients of Melbourne gynaecologist Simon Gordon have come forward to express distress over their treatment with many joining a newly-formed private support group.

Love & strength to all women dealing with the aftermath of another possible medical scandal. We MUST end the 'surgeon is god' syndrome & build proper whistle-blowing pathways. The medical regulation system is a failure & it's women who bear almost all the consequences. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Wee reminder that inequality is what the rich don’t want us united about.
That’s why they peddle and inflame and get us fighting about identity stuff.
Stay on target.

BBC News: Five taken to hospital after gas explosion at farm.

Enid Blyton is at it again.

On what we pretend to be - triggered by a chance meeting at a gig after 25 years

Writing little stories over here.
Observations and other bits.
It’s a cosy little spot on the web.
xo
Latest — eregnans.substack.com/p/what-we-pr...

Donald Trump is building an enormous tower on the Gold Coast – this plan cannot fail! | First Dog on the Moon A winning combination of schoolies, real estate and fascism – very Queensland coded

Magnificent
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

On what we pretend to be - triggered by a chance meeting at a gig after 25 years

Feat: old Kurt Vonnegut and young punks “Public Figures” rocking the 3RRR performance space.
@3rrrfm.bsky.social #writing
open.substack.com/pub/eregnans...

YouTube video by Jonathan Pie A Royal Reckoning

A Royal Reckoning.
JonathanPie.com

youtu.be/yiOvAgw4hwE?...

Severe thunderstorms likely (red) and possible (yellow) across large areas of AUS on Sunday.
Potential for heavy rain, damaging winds, large hail. Plan ahead.

Today in #Australian English, I got my first natural use of "not here to fuck spiders", which was exciting

At the library. In my old midnight oil head injuries t-shirt. Library security guy sees me.
LSG: oh wow, man! Now you’re taking me back! (Points to tshirt)
Me: ha! Where to?
LSG: mate! Koala sprint!
Me: no reaction!
LSG: yes! What an ALBUM! bus to Bondi! mate! Taking me right back. Have a great day!

The political effects of X's feed algorithm https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10098-2 Received: 16 December 2024 Accepted: 4 January 2026 Published online: 18 February 2026 Open access • Check for updates Germain Gauthier,5, Roland Hodler?5, Philine Widmer35 & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya3,4,5 m Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects'. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk's platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users' feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X's algorithm has persistent effects on users' current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right.

Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement.

This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.

Good to see the principle that no one is above the law is being upheld in the UK, but take note of the fact that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has not been arrested because of the harm he may have done to girls, but because of the harm he may have done to profits

‘Strong bank profits’ are a warning sign, not good news When banks make big profits media organisations love to cheer them on as though there are no losers form some of the biggest corporations in Australia making ever more money. But profits don’t come fr...

"When banks make big profits media organisations love to cheer them on as though there are no losers from some of the biggest corporations in Australia making ever more money.

But profits don’t come from thin air, they come from customers: they come from you."
thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

notorious radical left communist rag says tax the rich

Ted Lieu: “Donald Trump is in the Epstein files thousands and thousands of times. In those files, there are highly disturbing allegations of Donald Trump raping children … of Donald Trump threatening to kill children. So I encourage the press to go look at these allegations.”

Three frames. 1. Afro-American mother and and child walking along street, dressed for winter, behind them a silhouette of armed man. Child says, “Momma, who was Jesse Jackson?” Mother says, “He was a leading civil rights activist.” 2. Still walking along street, behind them silhouette of man holding up “ICE OUT” placard. 3. Still walking. Silhouette shows man from frame 1 seizing placard and aggressing man from frame 2. Child says “Momma, what were civil rights?”

Vale Jesse Jackson.
My @smh @theage cartoon.

so annoying

Are you pretending you’re not waiting for your parents to die so you can flog the family home? You monster! | First Dog on the Moon Australia’s ungrateful children can’t wait to get their grasping mitts on mum’s Royal Doulton Toby jugs

Intergenerational asset transfer? Get out of the way dad! www.theguardian.com/society/comm...

Indeed. Murdoch method.
1. Manufacture division
2. Create conflict
3. Fan
Purpose:
to distract us from rising inequality

Don’t forget, when Pauline drops racist bombshells into the media for everyone to react to, she’s now being funded by Gina Rinehart, major contributor to racist propaganda group Advance and inspired by MAGA-guru Steve “flood the zone with bullshit” Bannon.
The offence is the point.

Sadly this lays bare much media editorial policy.
Manufacture division
Fan conflict
Sell clicks

Yet these days, reports of outrageous brazen crime are so common. So common.
And that’s setting aside corruption and politics and poor governance. Man. What a debacle.

What I mean is - when I was younger, I thought criminal behaviour or unethical behaviour was very rare.

Though I guess for many many people it’s never been either decent or fair

Quite a lot of things falling off the rails of decent, fair society, hey?