David Neate
@neatedavid.bsky.social
Retired teacher, living on the land of the Wadawurrung people near Ballarat, Victoria. Working with my local Landcare Group to restore and protect our environment keeps me grounded. Caring for creation is an outworking of Christian faith.
Photos from today's walk at the Mullawallah #Wetlands, on the northwestern fringe of #Ballarat. For centuries a rich food source & a site of cultural significance to the local Wadawurrung people, and still a large enough expanse of water to support sizeable flocks of birds in midsummer.
January 23, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by David Neate
Bonhoeffer's Warning, Unheeded: The Moral Collapse of White Evangelicalism
open.substack.com/pub/processt...
open.substack.com/pub/processt...
Bonhoeffer's Warning, Unheeded: The Moral Collapse of White Evangelicalism
Why the Most Devout White American Evangelicals Are the Most Captured
open.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Bonhoeffer's Warning, Unheeded: The Moral Collapse of White Evangelicalism
open.substack.com/pub/processt...
open.substack.com/pub/processt...
Reposted by David Neate
“Any suggestion by Sussan Ley that the Bondi massacre can be blamed on the millions of Australians who have opposed Israel’s genocide in Gaza is baseless, preposterous, hate-filled and hypocritical.”
#auspol #Gaza #Israel #Bondi
theaimn.net/sussan-ley-t...
#auspol #Gaza #Israel #Bondi
theaimn.net/sussan-ley-t...
Sussan Ley tries to rewrite history
Palestine Action Group Media Release Today has witnessed a new low in the sickening attempt by some politicians to exploit the horrific massacre at Bondi in order to attack the mass protest movement i...
theaimn.net
January 20, 2026 at 7:10 AM
“Any suggestion by Sussan Ley that the Bondi massacre can be blamed on the millions of Australians who have opposed Israel’s genocide in Gaza is baseless, preposterous, hate-filled and hypocritical.”
#auspol #Gaza #Israel #Bondi
theaimn.net/sussan-ley-t...
#auspol #Gaza #Israel #Bondi
theaimn.net/sussan-ley-t...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
If the cynically-titled "board of peace" gets silent approval from democratic governments like that of #Australia, @albomp.bsky.social, the accelerated annihilation of the Palestinian population on the West Bank will follow. Tell Trump - and Herzog - 'no', please.
If the cynically-titled "board of peace" gets silent approval from democratic governments like that of #Australia, @albomp.bsky.social, the accelerated annihilation of the Palestinian population on the West Bank will follow. Tell Trump - and Herzog - 'no', please.
Donald Trump needs helpers for his appalling neocolonialist project. What else is this ‘board of peace’? | Owen Jones
Blair, Putin, Erdoğan, Orbán: the names of those invited to serve say it all. And it’s about so much more than Gaza, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:20 AM
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
If the cynically-titled "board of peace" gets silent approval from democratic governments like that of #Australia, @albomp.bsky.social, the accelerated annihilation of the Palestinian population on the West Bank will follow. Tell Trump - and Herzog - 'no', please.
If the cynically-titled "board of peace" gets silent approval from democratic governments like that of #Australia, @albomp.bsky.social, the accelerated annihilation of the Palestinian population on the West Bank will follow. Tell Trump - and Herzog - 'no', please.
Although "court prophets" are less prominent in #Australia than in the USA, the role of true #prophets to speak uncomfortable truth to power also applies in a secular state. In their absence, media voices with less ear to God & more confidence in their own stance are strident. From @baptistnews.com
"Like the prophets before him, [Martin Luther King Jr.] spoke truth to power, not as an abstraction, but as a lived, costly vocation."
baptistnews.com/article/cour... #martinlutherkingjrday
baptistnews.com/article/cour... #martinlutherkingjrday
Court prophets and the crisis of the prophetic – Baptist News Global
If a real word from the Lord were spoken today, would we recognize it or would we reject it for failing to confirm what we already believe?
baptistnews.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Although "court prophets" are less prominent in #Australia than in the USA, the role of true #prophets to speak uncomfortable truth to power also applies in a secular state. In their absence, media voices with less ear to God & more confidence in their own stance are strident. From @baptistnews.com
Into a week of sustained dry heat here in #Ballarat, so it's not surprising that the excited calls of hungry rosellas 🦜is ringing around our place. They've taken most of the cherry plums, and will get the crabapples even before they ripen - but sorry birds, the quinces & blood plums are for us.
January 19, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Into a week of sustained dry heat here in #Ballarat, so it's not surprising that the excited calls of hungry rosellas 🦜is ringing around our place. They've taken most of the cherry plums, and will get the crabapples even before they ripen - but sorry birds, the quinces & blood plums are for us.
Reposted by David Neate
❝ Almost two centuries separate the famines, but the atrocity inflicted on the Irish people in the 1800s is echoed today in the denial of aid to Palestinians ❞ — Barry Malone
From Ireland to Gaza, starvation has been normalised
Almost two centuries separate the famines, but the atrocity inflicted on the Irish people in the 1800s is echoed today in the denial of aid to Palestinians
www.middleeasteye.net
January 12, 2026 at 12:19 PM
❝ Almost two centuries separate the famines, but the atrocity inflicted on the Irish people in the 1800s is echoed today in the denial of aid to Palestinians ❞ — Barry Malone
Just finished watching this wonderful show on the making of a great Australian, Evonne #Goolagong Cawley, on #abc #iview.
Highly recommended. iview.abc.net.au/show/goolagong
Highly recommended. iview.abc.net.au/show/goolagong
Goolagong
Goolagong is the inspiring true-life story of world champion tennis player, Evonne Goolagong, one of Australia's greatest and most loved sporting figures.
iview.abc.net.au
January 10, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Just finished watching this wonderful show on the making of a great Australian, Evonne #Goolagong Cawley, on #abc #iview.
Highly recommended. iview.abc.net.au/show/goolagong
Highly recommended. iview.abc.net.au/show/goolagong
Reposted by David Neate
"Why do the Israelis hurt olive trees?"
There's nothing remotely 'complex' about the Palestine/Israel situation. It's straight-up colonialism, land theft, ethnic cleansing, and now genocide of the indigenous inhabitants: the Palestinians.
This powerfully written piece captures the essence.
There's nothing remotely 'complex' about the Palestine/Israel situation. It's straight-up colonialism, land theft, ethnic cleansing, and now genocide of the indigenous inhabitants: the Palestinians.
This powerfully written piece captures the essence.
"An elder is someone who is older than olive trees" is about asking why does the Israeli state harm olive trees, and reflecting on how I came to loathe state borders as someone who grew up in Lebanon to a Palestinian grandfather -- plus my love of trains.
www.hauntologies.net/p/an-elder-i...
www.hauntologies.net/p/an-elder-i...
An elder is someone who is older than olive trees
Or: what breaks me
www.hauntologies.net
January 9, 2026 at 9:11 AM
"Why do the Israelis hurt olive trees?"
There's nothing remotely 'complex' about the Palestine/Israel situation. It's straight-up colonialism, land theft, ethnic cleansing, and now genocide of the indigenous inhabitants: the Palestinians.
This powerfully written piece captures the essence.
There's nothing remotely 'complex' about the Palestine/Israel situation. It's straight-up colonialism, land theft, ethnic cleansing, and now genocide of the indigenous inhabitants: the Palestinians.
This powerfully written piece captures the essence.
Nah, it feels like 39.4°C out there. Certainly got the "very windy" bit right.
January 9, 2026 at 4:12 AM
Nah, it feels like 39.4°C out there. Certainly got the "very windy" bit right.
What a petty, mean and joyless place the US of A has become. @birdlifeoz.bsky.social advising today that they've had to suspend #Birdlife #calendar orders to the US because of Trump's tariffs. My sympathy to US bird lovers who'll be missing out on their purchase.
I'll order one today.
I'll order one today.
January 9, 2026 at 1:32 AM
What a petty, mean and joyless place the US of A has become. @birdlifeoz.bsky.social advising today that they've had to suspend #Birdlife #calendar orders to the US because of Trump's tariffs. My sympathy to US bird lovers who'll be missing out on their purchase.
I'll order one today.
I'll order one today.
Reposted by David Neate
“In case it wasn’t already clear, the Trump administration has started 2026 as it means to go on: with violence, in defiance of any sense of the rule of law or respect for international codes of behaviour."
Read Dr Shortis’s full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/explainers/4...
Read Dr Shortis’s full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/explainers/4...
January 7, 2026 at 12:48 AM
“In case it wasn’t already clear, the Trump administration has started 2026 as it means to go on: with violence, in defiance of any sense of the rule of law or respect for international codes of behaviour."
Read Dr Shortis’s full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/explainers/4...
Read Dr Shortis’s full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/explainers/4...
From @sciencedaily.bsky.social: A simple chemistry trick could end forever plastic | ScienceDaily share.google/cxkf7gU8G00P...
In the realm of #environmental / #conservation work, let's have some #Landcare field trials. We so easily spread #microplastics, e.g. by slashing weeds with #plastic line.
In the realm of #environmental / #conservation work, let's have some #Landcare field trials. We so easily spread #microplastics, e.g. by slashing weeds with #plastic line.
A simple chemistry trick could end forever plastic
Seeing plastic trash while hiking inspired a Rutgers chemist to rethink why synthetic plastics last forever while natural polymers don’t. By mimicking tiny structural features used in DNA and proteins...
share.google
January 5, 2026 at 10:13 PM
From @sciencedaily.bsky.social: A simple chemistry trick could end forever plastic | ScienceDaily share.google/cxkf7gU8G00P...
In the realm of #environmental / #conservation work, let's have some #Landcare field trials. We so easily spread #microplastics, e.g. by slashing weeds with #plastic line.
In the realm of #environmental / #conservation work, let's have some #Landcare field trials. We so easily spread #microplastics, e.g. by slashing weeds with #plastic line.
Went last night to the movies, to see 'En Fanfare' (for some reason marketed in Australia as 'My Brother's Band'; elsewhere known in English as 'The Marching Band').
It was brilliant, not a dry eye in the house at the end.
It was brilliant, not a dry eye in the house at the end.
January 2, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Went last night to the movies, to see 'En Fanfare' (for some reason marketed in Australia as 'My Brother's Band'; elsewhere known in English as 'The Marching Band').
It was brilliant, not a dry eye in the house at the end.
It was brilliant, not a dry eye in the house at the end.
With a hefty Northern Hemisphere membership on this site, we get lots of reminders it's ❄️ over there. I'm sure you're aware it's summer in the Antipodes! Some proof from our #Ballarat garden. Next week's forecast to hit 38°C (100°F); time to water & mulch in readiness. Will be 🔥 for #ATO players.
January 2, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by David Neate
Dozens of humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders, are banned by Israel. Israel says it will suspend more than three dozen humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), for failing to meet its new rules for aid groups working in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip
December 31, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Dozens of humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders, are banned by Israel. Israel says it will suspend more than three dozen humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), for failing to meet its new rules for aid groups working in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip
archaeology.org/issues/septe...
A great update on the construction of the chateau at #Guédelon, describing mediaeval skills being honed on the job. It's come a long way since we visited 11 years ago! Fascinating crossover with techniques described in Ken Follett's 1989 book "Pillars of the Earth".
A great update on the construction of the chateau at #Guédelon, describing mediaeval skills being honed on the job. It's come a long way since we visited 11 years ago! Fascinating crossover with techniques described in Ken Follett's 1989 book "Pillars of the Earth".
Features - How to Build a Medieval Castle - Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2025
Why are archaeologists constructing a thirteenth-century fortress in the forests of France?
archaeology.org
December 31, 2025 at 3:08 AM
archaeology.org/issues/septe...
A great update on the construction of the chateau at #Guédelon, describing mediaeval skills being honed on the job. It's come a long way since we visited 11 years ago! Fascinating crossover with techniques described in Ken Follett's 1989 book "Pillars of the Earth".
A great update on the construction of the chateau at #Guédelon, describing mediaeval skills being honed on the job. It's come a long way since we visited 11 years ago! Fascinating crossover with techniques described in Ken Follett's 1989 book "Pillars of the Earth".
The @aunz.theconversation.com article on #fire reminds me of a cherished science teaching resource - this series of videos on #combustion produced by the Royal Society of Chemistry @rsc.org 🧪
With worksheets I wrote, it enabled remote lesson delivery during Covid, 2020
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
With worksheets I wrote, it enabled remote lesson delivery during Covid, 2020
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
December 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
The @aunz.theconversation.com article on #fire reminds me of a cherished science teaching resource - this series of videos on #combustion produced by the Royal Society of Chemistry @rsc.org 🧪
With worksheets I wrote, it enabled remote lesson delivery during Covid, 2020
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
With worksheets I wrote, it enabled remote lesson delivery during Covid, 2020
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Often a simple molecular-level explanation helps explain the big picture. I was at a teachers' PD session some years ago where Prof David Karoly (now at Australia's #ClimateCouncil) led us through the physics of how #CarbonDioxide (& water) molecules vibrate when they absorb infrared radiation. /2
Nothing is as it seems.. 🔬 Why are water drops round? It’s because the atoms at the surface are "nervous" as they have no partners! 💦
Richard Feynman’s legendary explanation of surface tension - a masterclass in simplicity?
#seriouslyscientific #richardfeynman #physics
Richard Feynman’s legendary explanation of surface tension - a masterclass in simplicity?
#seriouslyscientific #richardfeynman #physics
December 28, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Often a simple molecular-level explanation helps explain the big picture. I was at a teachers' PD session some years ago where Prof David Karoly (now at Australia's #ClimateCouncil) led us through the physics of how #CarbonDioxide (& water) molecules vibrate when they absorb infrared radiation. /2
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A valuable article from David Slucki in @australia.theguardian.com that addresses the complexity (generally missed in the rush of the mainstream media to present their view, rather than their analysis) of the awful situation in #Palestine / #Israel today.
A valuable article from David Slucki in @australia.theguardian.com that addresses the complexity (generally missed in the rush of the mainstream media to present their view, rather than their analysis) of the awful situation in #Palestine / #Israel today.
In the battle against antisemitism we must accept that Zionism means different things to different people | David Slucki
Among Jews the meaning of the term has evolved – but there is still no consensus. And when people talk past one another there are real-world consequences
www.theguardian.com
December 28, 2025 at 11:05 AM
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A valuable article from David Slucki in @australia.theguardian.com that addresses the complexity (generally missed in the rush of the mainstream media to present their view, rather than their analysis) of the awful situation in #Palestine / #Israel today.
A valuable article from David Slucki in @australia.theguardian.com that addresses the complexity (generally missed in the rush of the mainstream media to present their view, rather than their analysis) of the awful situation in #Palestine / #Israel today.
Saul Griffith of @rewiringaus.bsky.social was nominated as #AustralianOfTheYear in 2024, and should be so nominated again, and win. His vision is rolling out across #Australia, including in our household. The transcript of this interview made inspiring reading. Thanks @volts.wtf .
Politicians and public utilities commissioner who are serious about making America great again should listen to or read this episode of @volts.wtf to see how Australia is doing it. We can do it too, but we need to tweak in our policies. 100% electric is the best path to America the Beautiful.
What's the real story with Australian rooftop solar?
Saul Griffith joins me to debunk the myths surrounding Australia's massive influx of solar energy.
open.substack.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Saul Griffith of @rewiringaus.bsky.social was nominated as #AustralianOfTheYear in 2024, and should be so nominated again, and win. His vision is rolling out across #Australia, including in our household. The transcript of this interview made inspiring reading. Thanks @volts.wtf .
The architectural beauty of #kangaroo #grass (Themeda triandra) on our roadside outside #Ballarat. A summer-green (C4) plant which turns a golden orange in autumn. Common on roadsides, where it faces competition from exotic weeds or introduced pasture grasses, & pressure from ride-on mowers. 🧪🌱
December 19, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Spot the #moth! Seen in passing on the bark of a pink ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) in our garden. I have no idea of the moth species - any Australian #entomologists on here? The camouflage is stunning; it only caught my eye as it briefly fluttered and then settled back into position. 🦋🧪
December 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Spot the #moth! Seen in passing on the bark of a pink ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) in our garden. I have no idea of the moth species - any Australian #entomologists on here? The camouflage is stunning; it only caught my eye as it briefly fluttered and then settled back into position. 🦋🧪