Bart Janssen
@bjjanssen.bsky.social
Husband, Plant developmental biologist, property of one cat, WoW player, wine drinker
@bjjanssen@mastodon.nz
Google Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/y9reuqeb
ORCID 0000-0002-5871-2831
@bjjanssen@mastodon.nz
Google Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/y9reuqeb
ORCID 0000-0002-5871-2831
Reposted by Bart Janssen
LT Study. Trickle down Trick.
“The incomes of rich grew much faster in countries where tax rates were lowered. Instead of trickling down to middle class, tax cuts for the rich may not accomplish much more than help the rich keep more of their riches & exacerbate income inequality” Like NZ. #nzpol
“The incomes of rich grew much faster in countries where tax rates were lowered. Instead of trickling down to middle class, tax cuts for the rich may not accomplish much more than help the rich keep more of their riches & exacerbate income inequality” Like NZ. #nzpol
50 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says
Tax cuts for the wealthy didn't boost the economies of the U.S. and 17 other countries — but they did worsen income inequality.
www.cbsnews.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:47 PM
LT Study. Trickle down Trick.
“The incomes of rich grew much faster in countries where tax rates were lowered. Instead of trickling down to middle class, tax cuts for the rich may not accomplish much more than help the rich keep more of their riches & exacerbate income inequality” Like NZ. #nzpol
“The incomes of rich grew much faster in countries where tax rates were lowered. Instead of trickling down to middle class, tax cuts for the rich may not accomplish much more than help the rich keep more of their riches & exacerbate income inequality” Like NZ. #nzpol
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Scientific funding is a net negative: "European taxpayers will have spent more on the funding process than on the funding itself, and the scientific ecosystem has been drained"
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Point of no returns: researchers are crossing a threshold in the fight for funding
With so little money to go round, the costs of competing for grants can exceed what the grants are worth. When that happens, nobody wins.
www.nature.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:56 AM
Scientific funding is a net negative: "European taxpayers will have spent more on the funding process than on the funding itself, and the scientific ecosystem has been drained"
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Bart Janssen
I’m just at the point where if we need a freaking royal commission into one awful and tragic attack carried out by two extremists, why can’t we have one into the scourge of domestic violence that takes pretty much one woman’s life each week…carried out by “he seemed like a pretty good bloke”
January 2, 2026 at 6:59 AM
I’m just at the point where if we need a freaking royal commission into one awful and tragic attack carried out by two extremists, why can’t we have one into the scourge of domestic violence that takes pretty much one woman’s life each week…carried out by “he seemed like a pretty good bloke”
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Do you consider yourself having been 'Rick Rolled'? I do. It's a passive and gentle Rick Roll but a Rick Roll it is.
December 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Do you consider yourself having been 'Rick Rolled'? I do. It's a passive and gentle Rick Roll but a Rick Roll it is.
Reposted by Bart Janssen
As someone who works with a lot of NZ charities I can absolutely guarantee you that if we subjected tax-dodging child-exploiting vermin to even a tenth of the annual financial and operational oversight as your average charity, they’d already be in jail.
December 29, 2025 at 3:50 PM
As someone who works with a lot of NZ charities I can absolutely guarantee you that if we subjected tax-dodging child-exploiting vermin to even a tenth of the annual financial and operational oversight as your average charity, they’d already be in jail.
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Many of these charities only exist because people like Mowbray are greedy arseholes, who became rich by exploiting others and then, instead of supporting fair taxes, they donate to hard right political parties like ACT #nzpol
December 29, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Many of these charities only exist because people like Mowbray are greedy arseholes, who became rich by exploiting others and then, instead of supporting fair taxes, they donate to hard right political parties like ACT #nzpol
Reposted by Bart Janssen
I tried to go around this car that was parked in the middle of the brand new bike lane on Great Nth Rd, and managed to skid on the road bumpers in the rain or something and went absolutely flying. I’m quite bruised & was in shock, but otherwise ok. I do hope this cunt gets towed, however.
December 27, 2025 at 5:42 AM
I tried to go around this car that was parked in the middle of the brand new bike lane on Great Nth Rd, and managed to skid on the road bumpers in the rain or something and went absolutely flying. I’m quite bruised & was in shock, but otherwise ok. I do hope this cunt gets towed, however.
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it
Reposted by Bart Janssen
“Light rail & mass transit should be part of the supercity's long-term transport plan.”
Great to see RNZ highlighting @connorsharp.bsky.social’s work to keep this smart option on the table.
Also good: moral support from Cr. @hendowest.bsky.social. Will Council pick this up and run with it in 2026?
Great to see RNZ highlighting @connorsharp.bsky.social’s work to keep this smart option on the table.
Also good: moral support from Cr. @hendowest.bsky.social. Will Council pick this up and run with it in 2026?
Scrapped light rail must become Auckland's long-term transport plan, advocate says
Scrapped light rail must become Auckland's long-term transport plan, advocate says
The multibillion-dollar project was scrapped by the coalition in early 2024.
www.rnz.co.nz
December 25, 2025 at 7:57 PM
“Light rail & mass transit should be part of the supercity's long-term transport plan.”
Great to see RNZ highlighting @connorsharp.bsky.social’s work to keep this smart option on the table.
Also good: moral support from Cr. @hendowest.bsky.social. Will Council pick this up and run with it in 2026?
Great to see RNZ highlighting @connorsharp.bsky.social’s work to keep this smart option on the table.
Also good: moral support from Cr. @hendowest.bsky.social. Will Council pick this up and run with it in 2026?
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Dead clients were terrible for business.
December 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Dead clients were terrible for business.
Reposted by Bart Janssen
If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career
The University of Oklahoma has removed an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.” https://cnn.it/4b6g3rd
Oklahoma instructor removed from teaching for failing a Bible-based gender essay | CNN
The University of Oklahoma has removed an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.”
cnn.it
December 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Biological sex is complicated. Before you discriminate against someone on the basis of “biological sex” & identity, ask yourself: have you seen YOUR chromosomes? Do you know the genes of the people you love? The hormones of the people you work with? The state of their cells?
August 9, 2024 at 10:41 PM
Biological sex is complicated. Before you discriminate against someone on the basis of “biological sex” & identity, ask yourself: have you seen YOUR chromosomes? Do you know the genes of the people you love? The hormones of the people you work with? The state of their cells?
Reposted by Bart Janssen
I remember reading that at least four federal prisons in the US are rated in the 25 worst prisons in the world insofar as living conditions and human rights abuses (federal prisoners in the US have virtually no legal recourse for these thanks to Clinton's PLRA in 1995)
Now if we could just get people to view US prisons through the same lens they view CECOT.
December 24, 2025 at 3:34 AM
I remember reading that at least four federal prisons in the US are rated in the 25 worst prisons in the world insofar as living conditions and human rights abuses (federal prisoners in the US have virtually no legal recourse for these thanks to Clinton's PLRA in 1995)
Reposted by Bart Janssen
I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%).
Lay article attached:
Lay article attached:
One of the biggest microplastic pollution sources isn’t straws or grocery bags – it’s your tires
Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go? The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particle...
www.pbs.org
December 24, 2025 at 4:49 AM
I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%).
Lay article attached:
Lay article attached:
Reposted by Bart Janssen
National rips up Labour's ferry deal costing NZ at least 700 million for nothing, then the fuckers want Labour to bail out their underwhelming India FTA..
Fuck off .. #nzpol
Fuck off .. #nzpol
December 24, 2025 at 12:13 AM
National rips up Labour's ferry deal costing NZ at least 700 million for nothing, then the fuckers want Labour to bail out their underwhelming India FTA..
Fuck off .. #nzpol
Fuck off .. #nzpol
Reposted by Bart Janssen
It's Christmas Quiz time. 20 festive questions which are probably too hard - sorry. Please share so others can suffer
forms.gle/MK5tb1SkK2LS...
forms.gle/MK5tb1SkK2LS...
Christmas Quiz 2025
forms.gle
December 23, 2025 at 5:47 PM
It's Christmas Quiz time. 20 festive questions which are probably too hard - sorry. Please share so others can suffer
forms.gle/MK5tb1SkK2LS...
forms.gle/MK5tb1SkK2LS...
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Christmas just arrived a few days early!🍿🤓
Look at this cunning plan to avoid surface light rail “disruption” by <checks notes> digging four stories underground, right across Auckland’s volcanic isthmus.
(Instead of just, y’know, running surface light rail along all the old tram-route boulevards🤷)
Look at this cunning plan to avoid surface light rail “disruption” by <checks notes> digging four stories underground, right across Auckland’s volcanic isthmus.
(Instead of just, y’know, running surface light rail along all the old tram-route boulevards🤷)
New dump of files on the failed “light rail” project. www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-inte...
December 23, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Christmas just arrived a few days early!🍿🤓
Look at this cunning plan to avoid surface light rail “disruption” by <checks notes> digging four stories underground, right across Auckland’s volcanic isthmus.
(Instead of just, y’know, running surface light rail along all the old tram-route boulevards🤷)
Look at this cunning plan to avoid surface light rail “disruption” by <checks notes> digging four stories underground, right across Auckland’s volcanic isthmus.
(Instead of just, y’know, running surface light rail along all the old tram-route boulevards🤷)
Reposted by Bart Janssen
I don't think corruption gets enough follow up in New Zealand. The links (should I say "concidences") between donations to politicians/parties and laws passed. The NZF/Costello tobacco link. NZF and fishing industry. Property and virtually every RW party.
December 23, 2025 at 12:49 AM
I don't think corruption gets enough follow up in New Zealand. The links (should I say "concidences") between donations to politicians/parties and laws passed. The NZF/Costello tobacco link. NZF and fishing industry. Property and virtually every RW party.
Reposted by Bart Janssen
It’s so stupid. If Labour thrashes the Māori Party, the left side of parliament gets smaller, because of the overhang. It would make Labour LESS likely to be in power
December 22, 2025 at 10:31 PM
It’s so stupid. If Labour thrashes the Māori Party, the left side of parliament gets smaller, because of the overhang. It would make Labour LESS likely to be in power
Reposted by Bart Janssen
#NZPol This is a depressing article. We’re a ‘advanced’ economy who’re about to buy wool from India and sell them wood. Fuck me. Agriculture is 6% of our GDP but listening to Luxo & our media you’d think it was 60%. Get some fucking ambition. Where are the articles about our gaming industry?
FTA with India: 'Bad deal' or 'strategically significant milestone'?
FTA with India: 'Bad deal' or 'strategically significant milestone'?
NZ First says it is a bad deal, but there is widespread support for the Free Trade Agreement with India among the New Zealand business community.
www.rnz.co.nz
December 22, 2025 at 8:38 AM
#NZPol This is a depressing article. We’re a ‘advanced’ economy who’re about to buy wool from India and sell them wood. Fuck me. Agriculture is 6% of our GDP but listening to Luxo & our media you’d think it was 60%. Get some fucking ambition. Where are the articles about our gaming industry?
Reposted by Bart Janssen
My kid is 14. He uses discord to talk to friends when playing Minecraft and dnd. He has no interest in FB or instagram or TikTok, but a social media hard-cap of age 16 would limit his social life unnecessarily with no benefit. Ffs, direct policy at platforms not users. Or ban boomers as well.
December 22, 2025 at 10:07 AM
My kid is 14. He uses discord to talk to friends when playing Minecraft and dnd. He has no interest in FB or instagram or TikTok, but a social media hard-cap of age 16 would limit his social life unnecessarily with no benefit. Ffs, direct policy at platforms not users. Or ban boomers as well.
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Clearest example of governments being more interested in regulating individuals rather than institutions/organisations. We do not have lobby groups and donations, just the one vote. Make sure YOU separate glass and plastic but we aren’t gonna a do a damn thing about data centers or Big oil.
My kid is 14. He uses discord to talk to friends when playing Minecraft and dnd. He has no interest in FB or instagram or TikTok, but a social media hard-cap of age 16 would limit his social life unnecessarily with no benefit. Ffs, direct policy at platforms not users. Or ban boomers as well.
December 22, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Clearest example of governments being more interested in regulating individuals rather than institutions/organisations. We do not have lobby groups and donations, just the one vote. Make sure YOU separate glass and plastic but we aren’t gonna a do a damn thing about data centers or Big oil.
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Roads are "infrastructure" that you "invest" in because they generate a return in [getting to work faster], which makes them better than free [ignore what the BCR say].
Health/education are "spending" that you "waste" money on because they [who knows what they do].
Health/education are "spending" that you "waste" money on because they [who knows what they do].
December 22, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Roads are "infrastructure" that you "invest" in because they generate a return in [getting to work faster], which makes them better than free [ignore what the BCR say].
Health/education are "spending" that you "waste" money on because they [who knows what they do].
Health/education are "spending" that you "waste" money on because they [who knows what they do].
Reposted by Bart Janssen
Counterpoint: no it wouldn't.
December 21, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Counterpoint: no it wouldn't.