Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Alison Jones

Michael Dowling aka MeckeringBoy @meckeringboy.bsky.social · 5h

"We need to end the cycle of knee-jerk lawmaking that is not evidence-based, lacks consultation with communities, and results in unconstitutional legislation,"

🙏🏼

Asher Wolf @asherwolf.bsky.social · 5h

NSW Supreme Court tosses out anti-protest laws www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

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Denis - The COVID Info Guy @thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social · 5h

“COVID is also more likely to make you feel wiped out, like you’ve been hit by a truck, whereas a cold tends to stay in your head and chest”

“COVID, can also spread more easily through the air in tiny particles that linger, especially in crowded or poorly ventilated spaces"

archive.md/p189w

Do I have Covid or flu? The crucial symptoms you need to know as cases rise.

Bryony Gooch
Thursday 16 October 2025 06:31 BST

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Senator David Shoebridge @davidshoebridge.bsky.social · 4h

More and more Australians are seeing through the spin, and working out that Australia being a US base for B52 bombers, nuclear submarines, marines and spy hubs is making us less safe. Much less safe.

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Steve Baty (He/him) @docbaty.bsky.social · 10h

Well that's a little fucked, isn't it.

www.abs.gov.au/media-centre...

This will satisfy the RBA Board, and nobody else.

Unemployment rate up to 4.5%

www.abs.gov.au

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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 10h

Champagne will be popping at the RBA today - they achieved their aim of getting 4.5% unemployment!

So well done on not cutting rates last month! Real finger-on-the-pulse move!

Chart showing Australia's unemployment rate since Jan 2022 and how in Sept 2025 it hit 4.5%

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Denis - The COVID Info Guy @thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social · 10h

Australia: Large uptick in applications to use super to fund medical treatments, ATO data shows

"Dental services, the number of requests has more than doubled in 2 years"

Source: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

37m ago 11.21 AEDT
Large uptick in applications to use super to fund medical treatments, ATO data shows
By Melissa Davey
ATO data published on Thursday shows a significant growth in applications for compassionate release of super to fund medical treatments. For dental services, the number of requests has more than doubled in two years.
It has prompted the ATO and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to jointly call out “… inappropriate practices that seek to use superannuation to pay for overly expensive or unnecessary medical treatments”.
To be approved, the medical services need to be certified by two practitioners as necessary to alleviate acute or chronic pain, to treat a life-threatening illness or injury or alleviate acute or chronic mental illness.
Guardian Australia previously reported that some businesses are offering patients “simple” access to their superannuation to pay for unnecessary medical treatments, with the ads described by the peak consumer health body as a “worrying trend” amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Ahpra and the Dental and Medical Boards of Australia today released new guidance for doctors and dentists in response to ongoing concerns of inappropriate conduct.
“I’m stunned to hear that some businesses and practitioners are taking advantage of this process to push overly expensive or unnecessary treatments,” Ahpra’s CEO, Justin Untersteiner, said.

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Matt Bevan @mattbevan.bsky.social · 10h

Ahyes, thanks Grok, very helpful information

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David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · 9h

14 years of methane leaking from Santos’s Darwin LNG plant.

Instead of fixing it, they argued that meeting international standards was too costly.

When major emitters dismiss responsibility as an “intolerable risk” it’s all of us that pay the price instead.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Prospect of net zero an 'intolerable risk' for leaking Santos plant

Santos's Darwin gas plant is set for a new lease of life despite a major methane leak. The company told federal officials the risk it could be forced to meet best practice on carbon emissions was "int...

www.abc.net.au

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Sphagnum Moss @mosssphagnum.bsky.social · 9h

"A 90-minute walk, jog or bike ride after getting vaccinated may boost your body’s immune response."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/resea...

News: Exercise May Enhance the Effects of a... (The New York Times) - Behind the headlines - NLM

(The New York Times) Exercise May Enhance the Effects of a Covid or Flu Shot. Associated research findings from the National Library of Medicine.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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John Dupuis @dupuisj.bsky.social · 9h

Policy Win: Health Canada Releases New IAQ Guidance

ospe.on.ca/advocacy/pol...

Policy Win: Health Canada Releases New IAQ Guidance

Health Canada announces new IAQ guidance, providing essential insights for improving indoor air quality and safety in buildings.

ospe.on.ca

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Jommy Tee @jommytee.bsky.social · 12h

Earlier this year (January 2025) Special Envoy Jillian Segal confirms the US govt lobbied and convinced the Aust Govt to get her position established.

www.c-span.org/clip/public-...

User Clip: Jillian Segal

US applies pressure on Australia to introduce Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism.

www.c-span.org

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NPR @npr.org · 17h

Water temperatures several degrees above normal span thousands of miles in the Pacific Ocean. Underwater heat waves like this can disrupt disrupts the ocean’s food web and fisheries, and alter weather on land thousands of miles away.

Return of The Blob: Heat wave spans Pacific Ocean

A massive heat wave is hitting the Pacific Ocean from Kamchatka to California.

n.pr

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LA Legault ⚜️ @lalegault.bsky.social · 17h

I am horrified & fascinated how fascism manifests itself in fandom/ cult culture. We see it with Israeli supporters, Trump supporters, Carney supporters, and now even Taylor Swift supporters. The inability to accept evidence because you like someone is very powerful and you have to check in.

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🇨🇦Joe Vipond🇨🇦 @jvipondmd.bsky.social · 16h

excellent news:
ospe.on.ca/advocacy/pol...

Policy Win: Health Canada Releases New IAQ Guidance

Health Canada announces new IAQ guidance, providing essential insights for improving indoor air quality and safety in buildings.

ospe.on.ca

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Margaret Morgan 🇳🇱🇦🇺🇪🇺 @margaretmorgan.bsky.social · 16h

Such stunning photomicrography! In awe.

(Somehow we never managed to get images quite like this when we were lab buddies, hey, @eimirving.bsky.social?)

www.theguardian.com/science/gall...

Magnifying the minuscule: Nikon Small World photomicrography 2025 – in pictures

Weevils, spores, slime mold and cells in extreme closeup for the 51st anniversary of the Nikon Small World competition

www.theguardian.com

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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 20h

And nobody questions this… alternate reality

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Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · 19h

"Everything they do is extremely violent."

Greta Thunberg on Israel:

Excerpt of greta thunberg article in link below

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🇨🇦Joe Vipond🇨🇦 @jvipondmd.bsky.social · 18h

metaphor for covid mitigations

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 20h

University administration:
"We need you to complete 26 hours of lab safety training 🧪 each year so that everyone is safe and responsible."

Also university administration:

Stolen from the Internet, a sign that says "If Elevator does not move do a small jump it should move after", and a dirty-white freight elevator wall and aged elevator controls with only floors 1 and 2."

I have no idea where this really is, I just stole it off Wikimedia.

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Alison Jones @alisonjones.bsky.social · 18h

“Crypto is neoliberalism made into computer code. It promises that individuals can create value out of nothing, that markets can exist without governments, and that rules are unnecessary if everyone pursues their own self-interest..”

Bylines Network @bylinesnetwork.co.uk · 19h

The Reform Party now takes cryptocurrency donations. Ireland banned them. The UK welcomes them. And Farage calls it freedom. It’s not. It’s money without accountability – and that’s a threat to democracy, argues Prof Richard Murphy.

@eastangliabylines.co.uk

Cryptocurrency: lawlessness disguised as liberty

Cryptocurrency is sold as radical innovation and financial liberation. In reality, it’s an old familiar story: fraud

eastangliabylines.co.uk

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Bylines Network @bylinesnetwork.co.uk · 19h

The Reform Party now takes cryptocurrency donations. Ireland banned them. The UK welcomes them. And Farage calls it freedom. It’s not. It’s money without accountability – and that’s a threat to democracy, argues Prof Richard Murphy.

@eastangliabylines.co.uk

Cryptocurrency: lawlessness disguised as liberty

Cryptocurrency is sold as radical innovation and financial liberation. In reality, it’s an old familiar story: fraud

eastangliabylines.co.uk

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 1d

More for the "Venn diagram of fossil fuel interests and pro-COVID team is one circle" research.

@karambales.bsky.social @walkerbragman.bsky.social @adrian7745.bsky.social

Crikey @crikey.com.au · 1d

Exclusive | Scott Morrison has registered himself as having a relationship with a $2.5 trillion Saudi fossil fuel company whose board member was once appointed by Morrison to a COVID recovery taskforce.

Scott Morrison declares role with Saudi oil company

When he was prime minister, Morrison appointed a Saudi fossil fuel firm's board member to two different taskforce roles in 2019 and 2022.

www.crikey.com.au

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kcarruthers @kcar.me · 1d

Who are 'Advance' & what are they doing to our politics?

Launched in 2018 as a conservative answer to GetUp!, Advance likes to style itself as the voice of the average person against “the elite" but it is Oz MAGA funded #aupol

johnmenadue.com/post/2025/10...

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

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Gregory Andrews @lyrebirddream.bsky.social · 1d

Batteries are the new solar.

Ten years ago, solar changed how we generate power.

Now batteries are changing how we use it.

The fossil and nuclear era of “base-load” power is over - clean reliability has arrived.

Read more.👇🏽

www.lyrebirddreaming.com/post/batteri...

Batteries Are the New Solar: And Our Next Leap for Climate Hope

Ten years ago, solar power was often dismissed as too expensive, too small-scale, too niche. Then the cost curve bent - steeply. In 2023, the world installed more solar than in 2021 and 2022 combined,...

www.lyrebirddreaming.com

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J. Offir, PhD @joffirphd.bsky.social · 1d

I get so tired of messaging that adds an "out" to the presumed message. The Yale graphic says "...it's important to take a multi-layered approach (one of more of the following) to protect yourselves & others."

Except, nope. "Multi-layered" means more than one. Not "one or more." Not "vax & relax."

emily fraser 🌿🐌✨ @emilyesfraser.bsky.social · 1d

To the many people who say “I’ll mask or stay home if I’m sick, but you’re CRAZY if you want me to mask regularly, & btw I haven’t even been sick in years”… yeah you have, & you probably spread it to a bunch of other people, some of whom, statistically speaking, lost their lives as they knew them

Graphic from Yale School of Public Health:

49% OF COVID INFECTIONS
ARE ASYMPTOMATIC,
which means you may not know if you are actually sick. This is why it's important to take a multilayered approach (one or more of the following) to protect yourselves and others:
N95 and
KN95 masks
HEPA air filtration
Good ventilation (carbon dioxide <800 parts per million)
Up-to-date vaccinations
Rapid tests before gathering
Attention to wastewater levels of COVID-19

Yale SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Sources: The Lancet Regional Health, CDC

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Sarajadebl @sarajadebl.bsky.social · 1d

FFS this man #AndrewHastie wants to be the leader of the opposition and dreams of being Prime Minister? This is a dangerous man with a huge ego, lacking in empathy and vindictive. Sounds like a threat there as well.

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