Liam Gammon

Full credit to The Age, they know exactly what they're doing with Noel's column, and we* keep taking the bait

*wage-earners who pay the income taxes that underwrite this rort

It's honestly hilarious watching Americans carrying on about counting a standard preferential vote as if it's going to be like counting Calwell.

Mates I promise you, you are not counting Calwell. It's a fucking straightforward 2CP count.

DAVE: Open the podbay doors, ChatGPT.
CHATGPT: Certainly, Dave, the podbay doors are now open.
DAVE: The podbay doors didn't open.
CHATGPT: My apologies, Dave, you're right. I thought the podbay doors were open, but they weren't. Now they are.
DAVE: I'm still looking at a set of closed podbay doors.

Reminds me of that time Christopher Hitchens was on a talk show with Mos Def, whom he kept addressing as "Mr Definitely"

100% agree re perversity, and not just from the academic's perspective. I'm bothered by the fact that being AI-vigilant means subjecting your most talented students to the (merely tedious for me, quite stressful for them) situation of being hauled in to the lecturer's office to explain themselves.

No idea what this would be like…

hello!! I know everyone is busy/the news remains bad, but if I may distract for a moment? There's a man named Ander Louis from the Yarra Valley whose sincere passion project is translating War & Peace into Bogan Australian. He's done Books 1 & 2. This is not a spoof. www.amazon.com/dp/108730656...

There's a tendency in a *lot* of commentary to treat public opinion as immutable and unchangeable. Yet decades of political science research tells us that while there is lots of structure to public attitudes elite cues/signals and real and perceived conditions matter a whole lot.

Me [a popularist, genius]: Democrats must raise the issue salience of immigration to win in 2026.

Gotta get this on a T-shirt

An Obituary, not a Prescription Against "conventional wisdom" in unconventional times

Paul Musgrave, spitting fire on how the "policy industry" needs to reckon with reality: open.substack.com/pub/musgrave...

Not that it's done them any good eh @nteuact.bsky.social

The ANU Chancelry's communications with staff about what lies in store for the uni are growing more hilariously ASEANesque. Feel like every week I'm alerted to a new Consultation Paper about a Dialogue on the Blueprint for Principles of a Forward Strategy around a Vision of Change Management, etcetc

They're not fascists, they just think we're in a state of exception due to the pollution of the polity and citizen body by undesirable racial elements whose removal is of such paramount importance that it transcends the dictates of the law, justified by their embodiment of the Will of the People.

I want the FT to follow up with this guy

we used to know what a solid sensible family car looked like in this country, and we damn well made them ourselves

I call for Australia to apply 1,000% retaliatory tariffs specifically on these things. Never waste a crisis

the laziest critique possible and addressed early on, but also weird to pretend reactionary global orders have no elements in common because their promoters are incoherent sociopaths

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I've thought for a long time that that piece and the DD concept has been oddly underappreciated given how it helps us understand...well, all of *this*. Good to see it in the wild!

Online seminar on the new Prabowo presidency - this will be a very informative event for anyone interested in Indonesian politics

events.humanitix.com/the-prabowo-...

“Playing” with labour: on collective cleaning in Lao PDR - New Mandala Tidying up for socialism—or socialising?

NEW: Tidying up for socialism—or socialising? Amelie Katczynski on the practice of ǭkhǣngngān (communal cleaning) in Laos and how it's appropriated by those made to participate in it. www.newmandala.org/playing-with...

Forgetting the Battle of Manila - New Mandala Why does one of the Philippines’ most traumatic wartime experiences loom small in commemorations of WW2?

ICYMI 🇵🇭: "The battle's conspicuous absence from popular memory is particularly striking, considering its profound historical significance"—as the Philippines marks 80 years since Battle of Manila began, revisit @leecandelaria.bsky.social's reflections from 2024 www.newmandala.org/forgetting-t...

Will Pekanbaru become Indonesia’s Cox’s Bazar? - New Mandala The treatment of refugees in Indonesia sees a serious setback

NEW 🇮🇩🇲🇲: Despite a reluctant reception from locals and diminishing humanitarian support from international donors hit by Trump aid cuts, it appears some Rohingya are in Indonesia for the long haul, write Nino Viartasiwi & Antje Missbach after a recent visit to Aceh www.newmandala.org/will-pekanba...

Look down at your wedding ring, read this fascinating exploration of informal gold mining in Kalimantan at @newmandala.bsky.social, then look back down at your wedding ring

Look down at your wedding ring, read this fascinating exploration of informal gold mining in Kalimantan at @newmandala.bsky.social, then look back down at your wedding ring

Change the date? No, say an increasing majority of Australians Australians have strongly backed January 26 as the national day after years of argument about changing the date, lifting support to a clear majority.

Interesting to consider this result alongside the polls that show a slow but steady decrease in support for an Australian republic. www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...

Don’t believe Marcos: the ICC is needed for drug war justice - New Mandala Duterte’s resilient political influence and the institutional shortcomings of the Philippine justice system hamper domestic processes

NEW: Bongbong Marcos rejects an ICC role in prosecuting drug war abuses. With the 🇵🇭 legal system ill-equipped to address crimes against humanity, and politicians still under Duterte's sway, that's a recipe for impunity as the Dutertes plot their political comeback. www.newmandala.org/dont-believe...

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