Clay

The last time I wrote about this I copped the biggest whinge fest from the then (Labor) minister’s office about how they weren’t cutting the budget lol

“So the question I have for Canadians is, what would we do with a human who is running around acting like a suicide coach or pretending to be a therapist when they’re not?"

Labor and Liberals just teamed up to vote against an Inquiry into AUKUS proposed by the Greens.

Not a single day goes by that the Albanese Labor Govt doesn't say or do something to make me utterly disgusted with them. 😠 #auspol #AUKUS

Denmark’s Bold Copyright Law to Protect Digital Identity from AI-Generated Deepfakes Denmark enacts a landmark copyright law giving citizens full control over personal likeness, tackling AI deepfakes .

I'm pondering this from August: "Denmark has made history by passing a copyright bill of Denmark that grants citizens full ownership rights over their personal likenesses, including their face, voice, and body." With remedies and ways to pursue accountability. www.tedlaw.com/denmark-copy...

They Want You Relying On Artificial Intelligence So That You Will Lose Your Natural Intelligence Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):

open.substack.com/pub/caitlinj...

That was Scott Morrison, but this is Anthony Albanese: The ALP's curious history with transparency Labor's commitment to transparency, in theory and in practice.

In the lead-up to his election, Anthony Albanese argued “transparency and fairness” in legislation were “a powerful defence against the threat of modern authoritarianism”. He repeatedly criticised the Morrison government’s “cult of secrecy”. So, where are we now?

www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/31/a...

a crumb of media coverage, as a treat www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

“When cabinet decided to spend $360 billion on some nuclear submarines that people didn’t know we needed, cabinet decided to do it without a brief from Treasury, and the then-Labor Opposition agreed within 24 hours”

“We can never allow ourselves to believe that change is not possible.” #auspol

​BREAKING: Today, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum opened all 1.56 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing. These lands are sacred to the Gwich’in Nation, home to irreplaceable wildlife and wilderness, and have never seen industrialization.

“We Can’t Do This Alone”: A Doctor’s Plea for Support in Caring for Long COVID and ME/CFS Patients As a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, my days are full.

“We Can’t Do This Alone”: A Doctor’s Plea for Support in Caring for Long COVID and ME/CFS Patients

danilobuonsenso.substack.com/p/we-cant-do...

David Shoebridge@DavidShoebridge •1d Reporting today that the Albanese Government is going to pay an additional $1 billion to US President Donald Trump as part of a series of tribute payments around AUKUS. ••^ Exclusive Defence Australia promises Trump a defence revamp, dangles $1b AUKUS carrot before PM's trip The Albanese government will seek to placate the Trump administration with a promised defence revamp next year, as the US calls for massive increases in defence spending.

More of the Trump extortion game at work. Apparently @albomp.bsky.social intends to pay 1 billion of our money to appease Trump.
Hell NO.
#Auspol

The Thirst of AI
The problem isn’t just electricity. AI data centres also consume vast amounts of water to cool their servers. A 100MW data centre can use up to 2 million litres of water every day—the same as thousands of households.
Free to read on my Substack.
bsky.app/profile/euro...

clever for spotify to meet the needs of one of their key demos: band guys who wanna groom underage fan

I follow Christina from her incredible work tracking Covid and government responses etc., this application of her expertise is likewise breathtaking. In a ‘punched in the gut’ kind of way.

Labor's $2bil fantasy: Socialising autistic kids into thriving neurotypical adults I wrote most of this piece in early 2024, in reaction to rollout of the Inklings program. Because I know how getting “socialised” into meeting neurotypical standards - in schools, or otherwise - works...

The sustainability maths behind this foundational support fantasy just isn't adding up.

#NDIS #Auspol #Autistic #Disability

1 in 5 children will have long Covid. Will that be your child? Mask Up

5.8 Million Children and Youth Have Experienced Long COVID Protect your child from chronic illness and brain damage Demand 'Clean Air' in schools Wear a respirator mask

Protect Children • Covid is still here and hasn't gotten any milder. • Covid is a leading cause of death in children • Covid is much more dangerous than the flu or cold. • More than 70% of US household COVID spread started with a child at school. • 25% of children (1 in 4) who get Covid will likely have some form of long Covid • Long Covid affects most organs of the body, including the brain and heart.. • Long Covid can be debilitating, even for healthy kids. • Vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalization and death but do not provide a lot of protection against getting Covid and very little to prevent long Covid • Many children can be spreading Covid without symptoms or realizing they have it. • Masks reduce Covid in schools. • Masks do not harm children and do not impact language development. • Outside is lower risk but masks still should be worn when close to others Mask to protect them. Clarente Spread LongCovidKids Disabli * /01| Asymptomatic NYT Masking Mask no Harm

Long COVID is a "public health crisis for kids," experts say "In school-aged children, we heard commonly that children were experiencing trouble with their memory, focusing, headaches, having trouble sleeping, and stomach pain," "This is a public health crisis for children," Gross said. "We know that child health is so critically important for how children grow and even as they become adults, that chronic illness during childhood and adverse experiences during childhood greatly affects the adults that they can become." "Some of these kids with long COVID, they are severely affected, they can't do their normal activi-ties, they fall behind school, they can't go to school," and that really interferes with with learning." A mask helps protect children from long COVID.

Imagine if parents were told any of this?

Bad news days for AI and everyone who slops it. 'If your incredible business idea – key word here, business – is to bake cakes for sale and then you complain that you have to pay for eggs and flour then I have some terrible news about your business idea and also quite possibly your soul and brain.'

Big miners have banked $60b in diesel fuel tax credits A Climate Energy Finance report recommends a $50 million cap on the fuel tax subsidy for mining companies to create more cash for green projects.

Australia’s biggest miners have pocketed almost $60BN in diesel tax subsidies in <20 years.

Unless we act, taxpayers lose $84BN more by 2030.

It makes no sense for 🇦🇺ns to pay tax while coal giants get a free pass.

End this fossil fuel subsidy now.
www.afr.com/companies/mi...

We told you so… again…

Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy On 30 July 2025, the Senate appointed a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy, to inquire into the prevalence and impacts of misin...

THIS IS A BIG DEAL 🔥⛽🌏💀 MAKE A SUBMISSION !

The Australian Senate now has a Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change & Energy investigating climate disinfo orgs & funders

Due by 12 Sept 2025 here:

www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...

Cont'd below 🧵

#auspol #NZpol #AtlasNetwork

Incidence and risk factors of new-onset hypertension up to 3 years post SARS-CoV-2 infection | Scientific Reports COVID-19 can trigger new cardiovascular events, including hypertension, in the acute setting. However, few studies have reported sustained new-onset hypertension post-infection. Moreover, these studies have a small sample size, inadequate controls, and a short (&lt; 1 year) follow-up time. This retrospective cohort study of 64,000 COVID-19 patients) from the Stony Brook Health System assessed the incidence and risk factors for new-onset hypertension after COVID-19. Contemporary COVID-negative controls were obtained and propensity-matched for age, race, sex, ethnicity, and major comorbidities before analyzing outcomes. The primary outcome was new-onset hypertension up to 3 years post-index date. About 9.93% of hospitalized patients and 4.66% of non-hospitalized patients developed new-onset hypertension after COVID-19. Hospitalized COVID-positive patients were more likely to develop hypertension compared to COVID-negative controls (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.57, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] [1.35–1.81]) and non-hospitalized COVID-positive controls (HR: 1.42, 95%CI [1.24–1.63]). Non-hospitalized COVID-positive patients were not more likely to develop hypertension than COVID-negative controls (HR: 1.05, 95%CI [0.98–1.13]). COVID-19 was one of the five greatest risk factors for developing hypertension. COVID-19 patients are at increased risk of developing hypertension beyond the acute phase of the disease compared to controls. Long-term follow-up, holistic workups, and vigilant blood pressure screening and/or monitoring for COVID-19 patients are needed.

“COVID-19 patients are at increased risk of developing hypertension beyond the acute phase of the disease compared to controls.”

#cleantheair #covidisnotover #maskforyourlife

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The way YouTube crushed this video, age restricted and then content warned it, and removed the description for people on mobile - all of which is different based on age and country and whether you’re logged in?

Should have just said “unalive”.

Honest Government Ad | EVs - The Juice Media The Australien Government has made an ad about its Electric Vehicle policy, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative. Tell Members of the Victorian Parliament to stop the EV tax: sign the letter C...

www.thejuicemedia.com/honest-gover...

EV drivers set to pay road user charges as record number of electric cars selling in Australia PM says sustainable revenue for roads is needed as report shows nearly one in 10 new car sales are electric vehicles

I mean, if you’re worried about falling revenue, the govt could just stop giving away $10bn in fuel tax credits, which even the OECD says is just an industry subsidy that should be dumped.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Text Shot: When Australian artificial intelligence expert Dr Kobi Leins declined a medical specialist’s request to use AI transcription software during her child’s upcoming appointment, the practice told her the practitioner required the technology be used and Leins was "welcome to seek an alternative" provider.

“Kobi refused a doctor's AI. She was told to go elsewhere” https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2025/kobi-refused-a-doctors-ai-she-was-told-to-go-elsewhere.html

The rapid, uncritical adoption of A.I. scribes by GPs and other specialists needs a lot more scrutiny and consideration.

The National Climate Risk Assessment is yet to be released to the public.

“Australians should see the truth of the climate risks we face before the government locks in a 2035 emissions reduction target." - David Pocock

You can read the full release here: australiainstitute.org.au/post/climate...

I really wanted to do other types of research, but we really have to fix all of AI's damage to reasoning and practice first, I guess, and then fix sexism and whatever else before we can even do new work on critical computationalism in peace because white supremacy and capitalism had to end the world

This is maybe the worst part about being an educator in the AI era.

AI companies are *stealing your time* by making you work around it/find it/adjudicate it. Time that, 4 years ago, you would have used to improve your materials, or stay up-to-date on some area of research.