Darrel Mc
@mithrilrat.bsky.social
Reposted by Darrel Mc
This just played out at the dog park:
Mother - rushing for ferry with coffee
Child (~8 years old) behind her “why do you use ChatGPT everyday?”
Mother “it’s called AI and it’s making my life easier”
Child “but it’s wrong and lies to you”
Mother “just hurry up!”
From the mouths of children ….
Mother - rushing for ferry with coffee
Child (~8 years old) behind her “why do you use ChatGPT everyday?”
Mother “it’s called AI and it’s making my life easier”
Child “but it’s wrong and lies to you”
Mother “just hurry up!”
From the mouths of children ….
December 2, 2025 at 9:49 PM
This just played out at the dog park:
Mother - rushing for ferry with coffee
Child (~8 years old) behind her “why do you use ChatGPT everyday?”
Mother “it’s called AI and it’s making my life easier”
Child “but it’s wrong and lies to you”
Mother “just hurry up!”
From the mouths of children ….
Mother - rushing for ferry with coffee
Child (~8 years old) behind her “why do you use ChatGPT everyday?”
Mother “it’s called AI and it’s making my life easier”
Child “but it’s wrong and lies to you”
Mother “just hurry up!”
From the mouths of children ….
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Yes. A thousand times yes. The library board needs to be replaced.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I have a lifelong connection to Victoria’s state library – which is why I am aghast at its crude self-lobotomy | Gideon Haigh
If the ‘suits’ can come for the State Library of Victoria, they can come for anyone, and no public institution is safe
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Yes. A thousand times yes. The library board needs to be replaced.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Pete Hegseth's WAR CRIMES and what we do about it. Our troops are in danger!
November 29, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Pete Hegseth's WAR CRIMES and what we do about it. Our troops are in danger!
Reposted by Darrel Mc
A *huge* vaccine victory. I've been writing on this for years; Australia has seen remarkable progress in cervical cancer prevention with the HPV vaccine. I love seeing science triumph like this.
Australia recorded ZERO cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking the cancer in the 80s.
This is the power of vaccines.
The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer.
Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!
This is the power of vaccines.
The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer.
Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!
newsGP - Australia set for world-first cervical cancer elimination
Vaccination programs have played a key role, and GPs remain ‘instrumental’ in boosting screening rates to reach the 2035 target.
www1.racgp.org.au
November 27, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A *huge* vaccine victory. I've been writing on this for years; Australia has seen remarkable progress in cervical cancer prevention with the HPV vaccine. I love seeing science triumph like this.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
‘Vast overreach’: police allowed to conduct warrantless pat-downs of people across inner Melbourne for six months
‘Vast overreach’: police allowed to conduct warrantless pat-downs of people across inner Melbourne for six months
Search powers, usually reserved for protests, will be in effect in the CBD and beyond in move criticised by human rights groups
Victoria police will have the power to conduct warrant-less pat-downs, search cars and move people on in Melbourne’s CBD for six months, in a move human rights and legal groups have described as a “vast overreach”.
Police on Tuesday declared the CBD, Docklands, Southbank, the sporting and entertainment precinct and parts of East Melbourne and South Melbourne as a “designated area” from Sunday, until 29 May 2026. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:21 AM
‘Vast overreach’: police allowed to conduct warrantless pat-downs of people across inner Melbourne for six months
Reposted by Darrel Mc
The ban is bad policy and it's clear not enough has been done to prepare young people and their families about what is about to happen. Where are the education packages and support that were promised? Just telling kids to log off and go touch grass is not going to cut it!
November 19, 2025 at 12:28 AM
The ban is bad policy and it's clear not enough has been done to prepare young people and their families about what is about to happen. Where are the education packages and support that were promised? Just telling kids to log off and go touch grass is not going to cut it!
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Aurora forecast shows some promise but 4 hours is a long time.
November 13, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Aurora forecast shows some promise but 4 hours is a long time.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Hey look it's a @vrubinobs.bsky.social difference imaging zooniverse game! Help us classify real vs bogus detections with REAL RUBIN DATA! www.zooniverse.org/projects/ebe...
November 11, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Hey look it's a @vrubinobs.bsky.social difference imaging zooniverse game! Help us classify real vs bogus detections with REAL RUBIN DATA! www.zooniverse.org/projects/ebe...
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Brussels proposed the law in an attempt to dial up regulatory oversight of satellite operators.
www.politico.eu/article/us-s...
www.politico.eu/article/us-s...
US slams EU’s proposed space law as ‘unacceptable’
Brussels proposed the law in an attempt to dial up regulatory oversight of satellite operators.
www.politico.eu
November 8, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Brussels proposed the law in an attempt to dial up regulatory oversight of satellite operators.
www.politico.eu/article/us-s...
www.politico.eu/article/us-s...
Reposted by Darrel Mc
I'm boring & repetitive but The Emperor Has No Clothes:
'The CPSU has said Australia’s employment services system are “a complete failure”'; they're not. They generate incomes (profits) for private owners. That's a success. It's both the intent and effect of privatisation.
'The CPSU has said Australia’s employment services system are “a complete failure”'; they're not. They generate incomes (profits) for private owners. That's a success. It's both the intent and effect of privatisation.
November 5, 2025 at 11:05 PM
I'm boring & repetitive but The Emperor Has No Clothes:
'The CPSU has said Australia’s employment services system are “a complete failure”'; they're not. They generate incomes (profits) for private owners. That's a success. It's both the intent and effect of privatisation.
'The CPSU has said Australia’s employment services system are “a complete failure”'; they're not. They generate incomes (profits) for private owners. That's a success. It's both the intent and effect of privatisation.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
New from me: News Corp successfuly lobbied for the teen social media ban on the grounds of "protecting kids mental health".
Yet it has been bullying an 11-year-old child, exposing her to an audience of 400,000+ for ridicule and abuse.
It does this often. Other mainstream media outlets do too.
Yet it has been bullying an 11-year-old child, exposing her to an audience of 400,000+ for ridicule and abuse.
It does this often. Other mainstream media outlets do too.
News Corp wants to 'protect' kids. It's also happy to bully them for its readers
Mainstream media outlets regularly bully primary-school aged children while pretending to care about youth mental health.
www.crikey.com.au
October 31, 2025 at 1:16 AM
New from me: News Corp successfuly lobbied for the teen social media ban on the grounds of "protecting kids mental health".
Yet it has been bullying an 11-year-old child, exposing her to an audience of 400,000+ for ridicule and abuse.
It does this often. Other mainstream media outlets do too.
Yet it has been bullying an 11-year-old child, exposing her to an audience of 400,000+ for ridicule and abuse.
It does this often. Other mainstream media outlets do too.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
so @matteowong.bsky.social & I wrote on data centers: arguably the most important buildings in the world & are, in a way, holding the economy hostage. Byzantine financial instruments, private equity, depreciating tech, hype, $trillion valuations. it’s all there. an ai crash prob starts here.
Here’s How the AI Crash Happens
The U.S. is becoming an Nvidia-state.
www.theatlantic.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:25 PM
so @matteowong.bsky.social & I wrote on data centers: arguably the most important buildings in the world & are, in a way, holding the economy hostage. Byzantine financial instruments, private equity, depreciating tech, hype, $trillion valuations. it’s all there. an ai crash prob starts here.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
At this point, publications that platform Loeb's comments, or feature him as the story lede (i.e., "Harvard Astronomer says....") deserve to be ridiculed and not taken seriously.
If you choose to look away from the hugely negative impact is having for the sake of clicks, then that's on you.
If you choose to look away from the hugely negative impact is having for the sake of clicks, then that's on you.
October 29, 2025 at 8:56 AM
At this point, publications that platform Loeb's comments, or feature him as the story lede (i.e., "Harvard Astronomer says....") deserve to be ridiculed and not taken seriously.
If you choose to look away from the hugely negative impact is having for the sake of clicks, then that's on you.
If you choose to look away from the hugely negative impact is having for the sake of clicks, then that's on you.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
“An AAP FactCheck investigation reveals a wave of AI-generated avatar videos spreading online, pushing claims of a "migrant invasion" and election rigging, sometimes with violent overtones.
www.aap.com.au/factcheck/th...
www.aap.com.au/factcheck/th...
The AI avatars rallying Australians to their cause
They appear to be real but the many faces calling on Australians to
www.aap.com.au
October 23, 2025 at 5:45 PM
“An AAP FactCheck investigation reveals a wave of AI-generated avatar videos spreading online, pushing claims of a "migrant invasion" and election rigging, sometimes with violent overtones.
www.aap.com.au/factcheck/th...
www.aap.com.au/factcheck/th...
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Here's proof that, behind their mask as "ordinary Australians", ADVANCE are actually billionaires and their self-interested lackies on a mission to prevent progress and destroy social cohension.
They are worthy of nothing but contempt.
#AusPol
They are worthy of nothing but contempt.
#AusPol
johnmenadue.com/post/2025/10... %26 Irritations
An interesting unpacking of who funds the curiously named ‘Advance’ reactionary lobby group. Not just Liberal Party members/funders but the advocates of the grouping once rightly called “the Uglies” #auspol
An interesting unpacking of who funds the curiously named ‘Advance’ reactionary lobby group. Not just Liberal Party members/funders but the advocates of the grouping once rightly called “the Uglies” #auspol
Who are 'Advance' and what are they doing to our politics?
Launched in 2018 as a conservative answer to GetUp!, the group Advance likes to style itself as the voice of the average person against “the elite.
johnmenadue.com
October 19, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Here's proof that, behind their mask as "ordinary Australians", ADVANCE are actually billionaires and their self-interested lackies on a mission to prevent progress and destroy social cohension.
They are worthy of nothing but contempt.
#AusPol
They are worthy of nothing but contempt.
#AusPol
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Chris Sidoti, former Human Rights Commissioner, at the National Press Club:
“The Genocide Convention not only requires that we not commit genocide - it also requires that we act to prevent genocide.”
#npc
“The Genocide Convention not only requires that we not commit genocide - it also requires that we act to prevent genocide.”
#npc
October 1, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Chris Sidoti, former Human Rights Commissioner, at the National Press Club:
“The Genocide Convention not only requires that we not commit genocide - it also requires that we act to prevent genocide.”
#npc
“The Genocide Convention not only requires that we not commit genocide - it also requires that we act to prevent genocide.”
#npc
Reposted by Darrel Mc
2 bits of new info in my piece:
- eSafety Commissioner will say which platforms that it considers in the teen social media ban
- Communication Minister has not asked the Privacy Commissioner for advice on what data social media companies may not collect
- eSafety Commissioner will say which platforms that it considers in the teen social media ban
- Communication Minister has not asked the Privacy Commissioner for advice on what data social media companies may not collect
Anthony Albanese is taking a victory lap on the teen social media ban before we know how — let alone if — it works
You’d be forgiven for assuming that the government’s victory lap meant it had settled details like what social media companies are in the ban, or how well the ban has to be enforced. It hasn’t.
www.crikey.com.au
September 30, 2025 at 7:30 AM
2 bits of new info in my piece:
- eSafety Commissioner will say which platforms that it considers in the teen social media ban
- Communication Minister has not asked the Privacy Commissioner for advice on what data social media companies may not collect
- eSafety Commissioner will say which platforms that it considers in the teen social media ban
- Communication Minister has not asked the Privacy Commissioner for advice on what data social media companies may not collect
Reposted by Darrel Mc
"Would any other country knowingly destroy its most precious cultural treasures to save a gas company money?"
"And for what? Woodside's North-West shelf project is an export project. It undermines our energy security."
Add your name to the petition to #savemurujuga
✍️ theaus.in/saveMurujuga...
"And for what? Woodside's North-West shelf project is an export project. It undermines our energy security."
Add your name to the petition to #savemurujuga
✍️ theaus.in/saveMurujuga...
September 30, 2025 at 6:50 AM
"Would any other country knowingly destroy its most precious cultural treasures to save a gas company money?"
"And for what? Woodside's North-West shelf project is an export project. It undermines our energy security."
Add your name to the petition to #savemurujuga
✍️ theaus.in/saveMurujuga...
"And for what? Woodside's North-West shelf project is an export project. It undermines our energy security."
Add your name to the petition to #savemurujuga
✍️ theaus.in/saveMurujuga...
Reposted by Darrel Mc
Hey pocket friends. Just a heads up that if I'm suddenly blanking you after December, it's not you, it's my government.
September 3, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Hey pocket friends. Just a heads up that if I'm suddenly blanking you after December, it's not you, it's my government.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
The same groups advising on how to disarm the intergenerational economic bombs that have started to explode are the same groups that helped set them, writes Amy Remeikis.
Australia's capital class remains too focused on profit to truly address productivity
www.crikey.com.au
August 24, 2025 at 11:40 PM
The same groups advising on how to disarm the intergenerational economic bombs that have started to explode are the same groups that helped set them, writes Amy Remeikis.
Reposted by Darrel Mc
These phone bans cannot be separated from the broader moral panic abt “child online safety.” The same figures and groups most aggressively pushing KOSA, age verification, anti LGBTQ speech crackdowns online, are behind the political push for these phone bans. I have been covering them for years now
August 25, 2025 at 2:56 PM
These phone bans cannot be separated from the broader moral panic abt “child online safety.” The same figures and groups most aggressively pushing KOSA, age verification, anti LGBTQ speech crackdowns online, are behind the political push for these phone bans. I have been covering them for years now
Reposted by Darrel Mc
"people who are still concerned about covid are so unreasonable, they just want us all to go into lockdown again!"
literally nobody is asking for that. what people are asking for is stuff like universal masking in healthcare settings and investment in indoor air filtration/clean air infrastructure
literally nobody is asking for that. what people are asking for is stuff like universal masking in healthcare settings and investment in indoor air filtration/clean air infrastructure
August 20, 2025 at 11:46 AM
"people who are still concerned about covid are so unreasonable, they just want us all to go into lockdown again!"
literally nobody is asking for that. what people are asking for is stuff like universal masking in healthcare settings and investment in indoor air filtration/clean air infrastructure
literally nobody is asking for that. what people are asking for is stuff like universal masking in healthcare settings and investment in indoor air filtration/clean air infrastructure
Reposted by Darrel Mc
I'm seeing fewer posts about the Visa and Mastercard situation, and I want to make it plain as day. You need to keep calling and bothering them and losing them money.
Because if we lose this, they are going to cut more and more from what's available until you can only buy what they approve of.
⬇️
Because if we lose this, they are going to cut more and more from what's available until you can only buy what they approve of.
⬇️
Spoke with an anon source who had an interesting insight into Visa policy. Per a convo with their bank on the Steam/itchio situation today, Visa put new restrictions into place due to a new "government policy." The exact phrase used by Visa. No specific country was listed as the source of the policy
August 19, 2025 at 11:22 AM
I'm seeing fewer posts about the Visa and Mastercard situation, and I want to make it plain as day. You need to keep calling and bothering them and losing them money.
Because if we lose this, they are going to cut more and more from what's available until you can only buy what they approve of.
⬇️
Because if we lose this, they are going to cut more and more from what's available until you can only buy what they approve of.
⬇️