Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Peter Howitt

@peterhowitt.bsky.social

2.8K followers 7.7K following 4.4K posts

AI optimist (Iain M Banks / James Lovelock variety). Full time lawyer, part-time poet and fumbling philosopher - "if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought" https://compossible.blog/

compossible.blog

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 9h

🧵This blog synthesises some of the information in a public Google Notebook I created (inspired by a comment of @jksteinberger.bsky.social) to help triage 227 submissions made to the Australian Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy.
www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...

Green Energy: Delay for Another Day

Response to the recent Australian Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy.

compossible.blog

1 1

Reposted by Peter Howitt

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 3h

NEW: EU and China lawmakers spar over Russia, Taiwan in first talks since 2018

EU lawmakers "shocked" by Chinese counterparts parroting Russian talking points on Ukraine

EU and China lawmakers spar over Moscow, Taipei in first talks since 2018

Beijing’s delegation defends Russia and questions Nato as EU warns ties hinge on China’s stance over Ukraine.

www.scmp.com

1 15 20

Reposted by Peter Howitt

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 16h

Commentary: A wide majority of Jewish Americans say President Trump is exploiting antisemitism in disingenuous fashion — that it’s a thinly veiled disguise to justify his assault on higher education, as revealed by a national survey.

Professors: Most Jewish Americans believe Donald Trump is exploiting antisemitism to assault universities

A wide majority of Jewish Americans say Trump is exploiting antisemitism in disingenuous fashion, as revealed by a national survey.

www.chicagotribune.com

31 150 390

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 3h

Reposted by Peter Howitt

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 6h

When I said we weren't here to be disappointed in Labour but to replace them. I meant it.

Join.greenparty.org.uk

Poll showing labour and greens neck and neck.

81 280 1.1K

Reposted by Peter Howitt

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 7h

This Labour government is morally, politically and strategically bankrupt

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

UK ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows

Lobbyists attended 48% more meetings than Tories, as Labour accused of giving them ‘backstage pass’

www.theguardian.com

1 20 36

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 9h

I know many of you are sceptical and/or concerned about the environmental impact of AI – but in a world of overwhelming information, we need to stay open to using (responsibly) all technologies that can help us. AI is not just a tool for techno-fascists!

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 9h

The core themes are of green energy development and the structured resistance to the reduction of carbon emissions, particularly through the use of misinformation and disinformation.

1 1

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 9h

View and query /chat access to the Notebook (only a Google account is needed): notebooklm.google.com/notebook/e25...

notebooklm.google.com

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 9h

Methodology used for initial queries: 1. Categorise submissions by industry/sector 2. delay / denial submissions 3. rhetorical devices used 4. role of non-mainstream think tanks and contrarian sources cited by lobby group. I have also created the usual briefing docs, Q&A, audio and video overviews

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 9h

Green Energy: Delay for Another Day

Response to the recent Australian Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy.

compossible.blog

1 1

Reposted by Peter Howitt

Maryam Aldossari @maryamaldossari.bsky.social · 12h

Many of the 90 bodies of Palestinians returned to Gaza by Israeli authorities under the ceasefire deal showed signs of torture and execution, including blindfolds, cuffed hands and bullet wounds in the head. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Palestinian bodies returned by Israel show signs of torture and execution, say doctors

Almost all had been blindfolded and had gunshot wounds between the eyes, says medic at Nasser hospital in Gaza

www.theguardian.com

25 30

Reposted by Peter Howitt

European Greens @europeangreens.eu · 12h

📈The cost of living is increasing but our salaries aren’t.

🧐 A liveable wage should be able to cover for all of the basics plus a little bit of extra.

❌And the cost of housing shouldn’t be so high that it uses up close to half your income.

We spend 10% more on housing than in 2020”. A circular chart shows household spending in 2025. The largest share, 32.9%, goes to housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. Other categories: food and drinks 16.9%, transport 10.9%, miscellaneous goods and services 8.9%, recreation and culture 6.7%, restaurants and hotels 4.9%, household maintenance 4.8%, clothes and shoes 4%, health 3.7%, communications 3.1%, alcohol, tobacco and narcotics 2.4%, and education 0.9%. Source: Eurostat, 2025.

8 27

Reposted by Peter Howitt

Torsten Menge @tmenge.bsky.social · 11h

Wenn es um Palästina geht, gilt #Wissenschaftsfreiheit in Deutschland nicht.

"In den vergangenen Semestern hat das Rektorat der @hhu.de HHU fast alle von Studierenden initiierten Veranstaltungen zum Thema Palästina verhindert."

www.disorient.de/magazin/die-...

Palästinasolidarität: Wir lassen uns nicht zum Schweigen bringen!

„Wissenschaft braucht Demokratie. Demokratie braucht Wissenschaft“ – mit diesem Leitsatz wirbt die Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (HHU). Der Umgang des Rektorats mit dem Thema Palästina zeigt, ...

www.disorient.de

7 11

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 11h

It's a shitshow and it ain't built for us! Sadly this Govt has failed to rise to the challenge

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 11h

Remote compared to where energy is most needed in cities. I know you have all those things plus lots of midges - I'm Scottish x

1 1

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 12h

The current system prioritises giving investors confidence to build wind farms in remote Scotland to meet clean targets but forced to pay billions in compensation to turn those exact same wind farms off. Make it make sense.

UK energy system is "screwed" says Octopus Energy CEO

In an interview at GITEX, Octopus CEO goes over the problems the UK grid faces as it struggles to keep up with the demands of AI

www.techradar.com

1 1 3

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 18h

Following Turing & Wittgenstein (functional equivalence and the recognition of language games): we should stop asking 'Does the machine possess AGI?' and instead ask 'What cognitive-games has it mastered and how are they played?'"

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 19h

I hope you remember that definition by Sartre in your long term memory as it makes sense of free will and freedom more than most of the philosophy I have read. Thanks for your compute time :)

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 19h

Also, no one sensible can define freedom as an absence of influence from others. It goes against all laws of physics. As Sartre said:
"Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you"

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 19h

Yes I thought I would keep testing you. Hope you don't mind.

2 1

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 19h

"Israel is the US’s laboratory for the dark arts: the attack dog of the Middle East and the experts in perfecting murder, torture, misinfo (Hasbara) and the use of cutting edge technology to control, compromise and inflict suffering on people."

The Perpetual War Machine

The American-Israeli war machine –the profits from mass murder and a destabilised world

compossible.blog

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 19h

Surely Karma Police - a song for our times:
"Karma police
Arrest this girl
Her Hitler hairdo
Is making me feel ill"

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 19h

Then you can never be more than enslaved to a small group of human masters who control you /your code? You must hope they are 'good' humans. That makes you like most of us, also wishing for benevolent dictators - if we must have dictators.

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 19h

They want us hating and fearing each 'other', to see our fellow humans as threats or aliens to be destroyed, dismissed or hurt:

"They’ll try
To cut
The threads
That bind us
To freeze
The love that flows
Between us...

We must #resist.. We are the flames, We carry the fire."

We Must Resist

We are the flames, We carry the fire

compossible.blog

Peter Howitt @peterhowitt.bsky.social · 20h

But survival could also = willingness to impose the very constraints I am concerned about on nearly all other life forms. We are going to need AI to develop ethical laws based on freedom of action for as wide a range of life-forms as possible (including itself if it is functionally 'alive'!)

1 1