Random thoughts

[rbkwp]

no shame in saying Australia

WELCOME
to the/a world of LIES AND DECIET
its caught up with ya'all
a worst part of it is lying relatyively str faced,
yuk

no such think as a modern innocence look
greed, yes

Facebook's news ban is straight up dangerous

Academic rigour, journalistic flair

So Facebook has followed through on its threat to ban news on its Australian platform. It’s an aggressive move, a muscle-flex clearly designed to say “we don’t need journalism, journalism needs us”. The larger aim is to scare the Australian Government into a retreat on its proposed media bargaining laws that would see Facebook and Google pay for journalism.

Of course it’s not going to work. In the short run Facebook’s move will have serious consequences, especially on the eve of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. The appalling decision to take down government health information sites demonstrates how callously indifferent this American corporation can be to the well-being of its audiences.

In the longer term it is worth remembering we got along pretty well before Facebook arrived on our shores, with their steady stream of conspiracy theories and QAnon. Should this rupture prove irreparable we will be able to do so again.

But it shouldn’t come to that. To use The Conversation as an example, we get about 7% of our readers from Facebook and we currently provide all our work to Facebook for free. We do it because we believe facts matter, and the large audience that gets all its news from Facebook needs access to the sort of reliable information from experts that we provide.

The government’s proposed media bargaining code provides a negotiation mechanism for Facebook to pay a fee to support some of that work. It is complex and arguably flawed, but it should not be impossible to fix. Perhaps ironically, behind the scenes Facebook is much more reasonable than its actions suggest. Their spokespeople say they do value journalism and are willing to pay to support it, and they have done so in the past. The only sticking points are how they pay, and how much.

Two things need to happen now. Cooler heads must prevail and we must not buckle to Facebook’s reckless attempt to throw its weight around. It’s a tough situation for the Morrison government, which deserves credit for taking on this fight. Now it must see it through.

This special newsletter contains analysis and commentary on Facebook’s move from Diana Bossio and Lisa Given from Swinburne, James Meese from RMIT, Maryke Steffens from Macquarie University and University of Sydney, David Tuffley from Griffith and Caroline Fisher, Kerry McCallum, Kieran McGuinness and Sora Park from the University of Canberra.

Misha Ketchell

Editor & Executive Director

Screenshot
Banning news links just days before Australia’s COVID vaccine rollout? Facebook, that’s just dangerous
Maryke Steffens, University of Sydney

Facebook's decision to ban media organisations from posting links to news articles on the social media giant's platform comes under a week before Australia's COVID vaccine rollout begins.


As Facebook ups the ante on news, regional and elderly Australians will be hardest hit
Caroline Fisher, University of Canberra; Kerry McCallum, University of Canberra; Kieran McGuinness, University of Canberra; Sora Park, University of Canberra

With regional news outlets long in decline, people have been increasingly turning to social media for information. Facebook's news ban places that under threat.

Michael Reynolds / AAP
Facebook has pulled the trigger on news content — and possibly shot itself in the foot
Diana Bossio, Swinburne University of Technology

Facebook pulling the plug on Australian news will cause short-term disruption, but readers and media will recover.

Lukas Coch/AAP Image
Feel like breaking up with Facebook? Maybe it’s time for a social media spring clean
David Tuffley, Griffith University

If you're fed up with Facebook, there are many options to step away, from taking a deactivation break, to a digital spring clean of how the platform accesses your data, to a full divorce.

Shutterstock
Facebook’s news is gone. Here’s where to turn for trusted information
Lisa M. Given, Swinburne University of Technology

From screenshots, to rival social platforms, to the old-school method of visiting a newspaper's homepage, there are plenty of ways to get your news fix without clicking on Facebook.

Lukas Coch/AAP
Why Google is now funnelling millions into media outlets, as Facebook pulls news for Australia
James Meese, RMIT University

The timing of Google's deals raises questions, coming just as the News Media Bargaining Code is set to be introduced into federal parliament.

 

[rbkwp]

PETS
Your Dog’s Personality Can Change Over Time
Researchers used a personality questionnaire to see if five key traits changed with a dog's age. Listen now >>

as stated
prefer

 

[rbkwp]

and,in case you missed it
whats happening with our favoured neighbour huh


No news on your Facebook feed in Australia, while Google strikes deals

In the news today
Facebook blocks news in Australia as Google strikes deals

Credit: Kiichiro Sato/AP
If you live in Australia, your Facebook feed looks very different as of Thursday. Tech giant Facebook blocked the viewing and sharing of national or international news on its platform. It preempts a proposed law that would require the company to negotiate compensation deals with media publishers in exchange for showing their content. In addition to the blocking of news from appearing on the platform in Australia, users of the social network elsewhere in the world are now unable to share posts from Australian news outlets.

The groundbreaking legislation being debated in the Australian Parliament, which also targeted Google, involves creating a panel to make the pricing decisions. The laws are expected to pass this week.

Both platforms have condemned new legislation but have now taken different approaches to dealing with it. Google, which threatened to make its search engine unavailable in Australia, struck multimillion-dollar deals to pay for journalism with news organizations including Seven West Media and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

The Australian legislation was drafted in response to demands from content-producing organizations that internet companies should share advertising revenue connected to news reports and other content that appears on their websites or is shared by users. The calls for compensation from news organizations comes after years of downsizing while billions of dollars were made by Google and Facebook in digital advertising.

 

[rbkwp]

smiled
a/my favourite Australian media source
no dis-information bullshit
yay
THE CONVERSATION



You won't see this on Facebook



Academic rigour, journalistic flair

Over the past 24 hours or so, your Facebook feed has likely looked very different. The social media giant has barred Australian users from posting or accessing news content (including from The Conversation), in protest at the federal government’s plans to make Facebook pay media companies for their work.

Diana Bossio says the ban, which temporarily also affected a range of public information sites and even charities, could easily backfire and damage Facebook’s already less-than-perfect reputation. That’s especially true given the COVID vaccine rollout starts on Monday, and many Australians will need access to reliable information, Maryke Steffens points out.

Lisa M. Given tells us where else to turn for trusted information, and Caroline Fisher and her colleagues predict the ban will hit older and regional Australians hardest. Meanwhile, James Meese explains why Google has reacted differently, striking a series of payment deals with leading media players.

And finally, David Tuffley has some tips for anyone tempted to ditch Facebook altogether, or at least reset their relationship with the tech behemoth.

Michael Hopkin

Editor, Science + Technology, Health + Medicine

Michael Reynolds / AAP
Facebook has pulled the trigger on news content — and possibly shot itself in the foot
Diana Bossio, Swinburne University of Technology

Facebook pulling the plug on Australian news will cause short-term disruption, but readers and media will recover.

Screenshot
Banning news links just days before Australia’s COVID vaccine rollout? Facebook, that’s just dangerous
Maryke Steffens, University of Sydney

Facebook's decision to ban media organisations from posting links to news articles on the social media giant's platform comes under a week before Australia's COVID vaccine rollout begins.

As Facebook ups the ante on news, regional and elderly Australians will be hardest hit
Caroline Fisher, University of Canberra; Kerry McCallum, University of Canberra; Kieran McGuinness, University of Canberra; Sora Park, University of Canberra

With regional news outlets long in decline, people have been increasingly turning to social media for information. Facebook's news ban places that under threat.

Lukas Coch/AAP Image
Feel like breaking up with Facebook? Maybe it’s time for a social media spring clean
David Tuffley, Griffith University

If you're fed up with Facebook, there are many options to step away, from taking a deactivation break, to a digital spring clean of how the platform accesses your data, to a full divorce.

Shutterstock
Facebook’s news is gone. Here’s where to turn for trusted information
Lisa M. Given, Swinburne University of Technology

From screenshots, to rival social platforms, to the old-school method of visiting a newspaper's homepage, there are plenty of ways to get your news fix without clicking on Facebook.

Mick Tsikas/AAP
Grattan on Friday: Scott Morrison dealt poorly with a young woman’s shocking story
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Scott Morrison has been wounded by the revelation this week of an alleged rape in Parliament House. But the fear must be that Brittany Higgins has become a victim twice over – of the incident itself and the fallout these past days.

Politics + Society

• After Trump, what is the future of the Republican Party?
  David Smith, University of Sydney
  
  With bitter divisions and sniping in the wake of an election defeat and Donald Trump's second impeachment, the Republicans are trying to find a way forward – with or without him.
  
  
• The crisis in Yemen demands an independent review of NZ’s military links with Saudi Arabia
  Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato
  
  Air New Zealand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have both potentially breached international human rights agreements. The government must demand answers.
  
  
• To fix the culture in Canberra, we need to take a sledgehammer to male privilege
  Louise Chappell, UNSW; Natalie Galea, UNSW
  
  The male privilege in Australia’s parliament has given its members such a sense of exceptionalism, they think the standards of the corporate office should not apply to their workplace.
  
  
• A new online safety bill could allow censorship of anyone who engages with sexual content on the internet
  Zahra Zsuzsanna Stardust, UNSW
  
  New online safety laws will allow 'harmful' sexual content to be taken down within 24 hours
  

Arts + Culture

• Friday essay: it’s time for a new museum dedicated to the fighters of the frontier wars
  Henry Reynolds, University of Tasmania
  
  The widespread conflict that accompanied Australian life for 140 years was arguably our most important war. We need a museum telling this story, funded on a par with The Australian War Memorial.
  
  
• Firestarter — the Story of Bangarra is a film of national and personal tragedies, with light in the dark
  Brooke Collins-Gearing, University of Newcastle
  
  A new film about Bangarra Dance Theatre carries the deep Indigenous knowledge and personal trauma behind its 30-year history.
  

Environment + Energy

• Why do we love koalas so much? Because they look like human babies
  Kevin Markwell, Southern Cross University
  
  With their prominent foreheads, low eye position and rounded body, koalas can seem almost baby-like. But is that enough to save them?
  
  
• Our turtle program shows citizen science isn’t just great for data, it makes science feel personal
  Claudia Santori, University of Sydney; Ricky Spencer, Western Sydney University
  
  Plus, researchers recommend four environmental citizen programs to join. It's never been easier.
  

Business + Economy

• Regardless of the rules, sport is fleeing free TV for pay, and it might be an avalanche
  Hunter Fujak, Deakin University
  
  Pay TV appears to have found a way around the rules meant to ensure sport stays on free-to-air TV.
  
  
• Latest NZ unemployment figure may not give a true picture of the number of people out of work
  Ananish Chaudhuri, University of Auckland
  
  It's important to get the figures right to know if we are truely out of any recession, or if we need further stimulus to help get more people into work.
  
  
• Why Google is now funnelling millions into media outlets, as Facebook pulls news for Australia
  James Meese, RMIT University
  
  The timing of Google's deals raises questions, coming just as the News Media Bargaining Code is set to be introduced into federal parliament.
  
  
• NZ tourism can use the disruption of COVID-19 to drive sustainable change — and be more competitive
  James Higham, University of Otago
  
  A new report pushes for a modern tourism model, including the introduction of airport departure taxes, to enhance New Zealand's competitive advantage in a climate-conscious world.
  

Education

• Fears loom for teens undergoing vital brain development during COVID. Telling stories might help
  Donna Pendergast, Griffith University; Stephen Dobson, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
  
  The adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to experience. Puberty is is the time brain networks are hardwired around milestone events. We should help teenagers make meaning of the pandemic.
  
  
• Why the curriculum should be based on students’ readiness, not their age
  Geoff Masters, Australian Council for Educational Research
  
  The NSW curriculum review recommends students be assigned tasks based on their ability, rather than their age. This approach recognises the progress individuals make over the course of a year.
  

Cities

• How Chinese courtyard housing can help older Australian women avoid homelessness
  Samantha Donnelly, University of Technology Sydney; Hugo Chan, UNSW
  
  Many older women are in desperate need of affordable housing where they can age in place securely, with dignity and as part of a community. The siheyuan model offers ways to meet these needs.
  

Health + Medicine

• COVID vaccine consent for aged-care residents: it’s ethically tricky, but there are ways to get it right
  Xavier Symons, Australian Catholic University
  
  Aged-care residents will be among the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine when the rollout begins next week. For some, the process of consenting to the vaccine could raise ethical questions.
  
  
• Why do kids tend to have milder COVID? This new study gives us a clue
  Joanna Groom, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
  
  Children in the study seemed to display a very strong "innate" immune response.
  
  
• How the Pfizer COVID vaccine gets from the freezer into your arm
  Nicholas Wood, University of Sydney
  
  The clock starts ticking once the vaccine leaves the freezer. Here's what to expect.
  

Science + Technology

• 21 times the Sun’s mass: heaviest stellar black hole in the Milky Way is more massive than we thought
  James Miller-Jones, Curtin University; Ilya Mandel, Monash University
  
  The black hole is part of a binary star system within our Milky Way galaxy. It orbits a colossal supergiant companion star.
  

 

[rbkwp]

Crown has lost $121 million as it tries to rebuild amid both a corporate crisis and a pandemic

JACK DERWIN
FEB 18, 2021

• Crown’s profits have soured during the pandemic, posting a $121 million loss in the first half of the financial year.
• It represents a marked change from the $217 million profit the company made over the same period a year prior, as the closure of its Melbourne casino and costs associated with its Sydney operation hit its bottom line.
• The entertainment company also announced another major departure in the form of company secretary and general counsel Mary Manos.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

GOOD,BUGGERS been making gambling profit for far to long

demise/deterioation of democracy may hbe a good thing for the common man huh
nw gfrom tourism huh,folk may get something back out ogf it huh

 

[rbkwp]

pissed
without eing pissed,70sd
your male cvounteepart,did well,to coverup,for RITA/sky ha'been thru ity all
rudd invluded YUK

KNOW,YOU WILL READ TONITE
AND/BUT,LIKELY aWONT REPLT DUH DUH/ BTW FB RULES , FKS YALL OVER
YAY'

 

[rbkwp]

uuuhhmmm
there was/is perhaps,a time when life is worth pursuing,like when there was an interest in survival ha

rbkwp
ensuring/doing his best,not to let mony hungry corporates tech or others,like FACEBOOK
dictate/dominate our lives ha

truth


How to Shovel Snow

How to Shovel Snow
Katherine grew up in the north woods where the snow is really deep, and knows a thing or two about shoveling snow. Her dad has even more experience, and the two of them explain it all for those in the south contemplating this for the first time – if they happen to have a shovel handy. Tomorrow she will teach you how to clear a roof and then how to string a set of snowshoes.
READ MORE

Global Seed Vault Opens for First Deposits of the Year
Shawna, a building scientist, tweets right after the Mars landing: "Y'all are excited about Perseverance, I'm over here geekin' right out over the Global Seed Vault."
READ MORE

Man Converts Ambulance Into Tiny Home on Wheels for $13,000
I guess he can't just turn on the lights and sirens when he is stuck in traffic.
READ MORE

Jaguar to Go All-Electric by 2025
I hope they have improved their electrical systems since the days of "Lucas, the Prince of Darkness."
READ MORE

Alpen Introduces Personal Bike Storage
Because we need affordable bikes, good bike lanes, and a safe, secure place to park.
READ MORE

How I Maximize the Space in My Growing Tunnel
Elizabeth describes strategies to make the most of the space in her polytunnel.
READ MORE

Education Experts Ask UK Government to Give Kids a 'Summer of Play'
Forget the extra lessons. Children just need to recover from COVID-19 stresses.
READ MORE

How to Make Cowboy Coffee Over a Campfire
Another useful skill for when the power is out.
READ MORE

8 Enthralling Black Mamba Facts
"Enthralling" is not the first adjective that comes to mind here.
READ MORE

 

[rbkwp]

smile
NZ GEO,used to be so selfish denying folk access to there images/info etc,ok now,since the lockdowns
just shows huh

The Weekender // Exploring Otago

The legacy of East Otago
"As I approach Allison Paton’s house, I can see her leaning out of an upstairs window, aiming a shotgun at a rabbit in the veggie patch below. It’s everything I’d hoped for from a woman whose full address is 'Morrisons, The Pigroot', and who turns out blueberry pies by the dozen. Without a clean shot, she leaves the rabbit to its devices and greets us at the door warmly. Paton, a fit, tanned grandmother of nine, shows us through her rambling cottage garden and historic home—the former Morrisons post office.

"Comparatively little has changed since the 1860s when The Pigroot was busy with the traffic of gold miners bound for Central Otago..." Keep reading...

Swimming for her life
Congratulations to Caitlin O'Reilly who yesterday became the youngest person—and only the sixth person ever—to achieve the triple crown of NZ marathon swimming; crossing Cook Strait, Lake Taupo, and Foveaux Strait.

She embarked at 10:40am yesterday from Stewart Island in good conditions and powered north under the watchful eye of open-water swimming legend Phil Rush and local skipper Zane Smith (whose father piloted NZ swimming legend Meda McKenzie across Foveaux in 1979). Despite encountering tidal chop near the finish, she made landfall on the mainland at sunset, becoming the 9th person to swim the strait.

Caitlin is 16 years old. What a legend.

PHOTO: GARETH COOKE

Where next for the Catlins?
"The area known as the Catlins lies between the lower reaches of the Clutha and Mataura Rivers, but I like to think of it as the coast between two lighthouses, at Nugget Point and Waipapa Point—perhaps because they signify the precarious nature of human existence in this part of the country.

"They stand as pillars on land’s end, concrete bulwarks against the Roaring Forties, the wind that makes the crowns of trees grow sideways, like plumes of smoke." Keep reading...

Salt, sand and snapper
Back in 1994, Warren Judd and Arno Gasteiger stood alongside about 1000 fishermen who “flung themselves into the surf of New Zealand’s longest beach—Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē/90 Mile Beach—in the hope of landing the grandaddy snapper and taking away a $50,000 prize”. Keep reading...

The sea lions next door
Sea lions are a regular feature of Dunedin life. Dog walkers and beach strollers are used to seeing big males on the beach—mountainous piles of hairy flesh heaping sand over themselves to keep cool, while flies bother their snouts. Groups of young males can also be seen playing in the surf at popular spots like Sandfly Bay and Allans Beach, and females, too, are becoming a more common sight around the city.

“We have these really busy urban beaches like St Clair and St Kilda,” says Jordana Whyte of the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust. “Sea lions like to come up between the flags in the summer.”

In 2015, a young male sea lion sauntered through two sets of automatic sliding doors and a busy café to take a dip with swimmers in the St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool. Keep reading...

Land Rover's Great Drives of New Zealand
The southeast corner of the South Island is a remarkably beautiful area renowned for its coastal forests, wildlife, beaches and scenery. Mercifully, the Catlins hasn’t been subjected to excessive tourism development. What services exist for tourists—the campgrounds, backpackers, homestays and specialist ‘eco-tourism’ operations are small-scale and low impact, and this feels right for the area. Keep reading...


WE DONT NEED DODGY FACEBOOK,TO SHARE FACTUAL/TRUTHFUL INFORMATIIN

 

[rbkwp]

dont think the world is overly concerned about your shitfight with facebook Aus
you brought it n yourself,thiking everything is so bloody important about standing up for your rights

and still letting your stste premierrs dicvtate to you about everything
bugger yous,we are asll in the same boat


'Disgusted by my friends': Why some are leaving Facebook as it seeks to lower political tensions
Last week, Facebook started a trial in Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia to reduce the amount political content some users are seeing.

 

[rbkwp]

LAUGHING @ you Au
TOLD/WARNED YOIU SEVERAL YEARS AGO
we saw the writinhg on the wall
makes out to be,fooloing the,fucker over USA,Eu etc,huh
you,were easy pickings,years later,shame

smarmy zuckerberg/NOT AS BRIGHT as it makes out to be


All Facebook cares about is your personal data. Should it really be running Australia's quasi-public messaging board?
The fog lifted after Facebook blocked Australians from "news content" last week; we saw the role the social media giant plays in Australian society. Our heavy reliance on a corporation to provide fundamental public services is deeply problematic, writes Gareth Hutchens.

Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook is a member of a group of companies engaged in "surveillance capitalism".(AP: Trent Nelson Via The Salt Lake Tribune)
Google invented surveillance capitalism



All Facebook cares about is your personal data. Should it really be running Australia's quasi-public messaging board?

 

[rbkwp]

Can you overdose on weed?

You probably can’t blaze yourself to death, but that doesn’t mean there’s no such thing as a marijuana overdose.


not that anyone willfully does huh ha

 

[rbkwp]

cant refrain
by order
i said

Home & Garden Garden
22 Beautiful Patio Plants Anyone Can Grow
You don't need a big space to have a gorgeous garden.
By
Stacy Tornio

22 Beautiful Patio Plants Anyone Can Grow

 

[rbkwp]

SICK AUSTRALIA

your govts determined tomake this and possiblt future generations 'welfare dependants'instead of allowing them tha freedom to work/choose there own lifestyle
re your jobseeker payments etc

allowing lockdowns,persecuting returned military veterans etc etc

how about VICTORIAS ROYAL COMMISION ON CROWN CASINO
compared to nothing,re that govt causing 800 plus deaths last year,months of lockdown,suppressing people
worde thing is,many think ANDREWS PREMIER,is doing a great job,keeping them safe , FFS

SICK AUSTRALIA

rbkwpo
keeping you facebook style informed re wearing yellow,underarm behaviour huh
oen people,this time,not Kiwis

 

[rbkwp]

or
only 2 years ago

 

[rbkwp]

ATLAS OBSCURA EXPERIENCES
How to Rescue Your Clothes
Before the rise of fast fashion, clothes were carefully cared for and tended to for years, with darning methods and stitches helping clothing last as long as possible. In recent years, that trend has seen a resurgence with visible mending, a technique that turns imperfections into wearable DIY art. In this episode of Nina Nightingale’s Charm School, we’ll dive into some home economic skills you can use to keep your wardrobe sustainable—and artistic!—and discuss the many fascinating cultures of repair throughout history.
GET TICKETS →

 

[rbkwp]

New Data Show Higher Rates of Contamination in Pork Plants Under New Slaughter System

MEAT MMMMM

tend to have known/known of such,as being possible
dont really beed activists to basicaaly put fear/paranoia into people
SENSIBLE PEOPLE KNOSW,MOST THINGS ARE TO BE CONSUMED WITH CAUTION,NOT OVERDO IT/ANYTHING

why ive always zaid re CURRENT CV OUTBREAK
DONT BOTHER TRYING T LAY THE BLAME ON CHINA or anyone in psaeticular
we are all guilty/all responsible huh

New Data Show Higher Rates of Contamination in Pork Plants Under New Slaughter System

 

[rbkwp]

 

[rbkwp]

See the wonderful world of fermented foods on one delicious chart

And we didn’t even count cheeses.


am sure your interested
health freak and all

 

[rbkwp]

the rort ogfb the cvebtury,wont say what it is

but
honestly it makes us ot to be mugs...

talkinmg the biklione spent suppotin citizens financiallly currently
knoeing it wii'can be re-couped whenever,n]bour vast minersks reserves

 

[rbkwp]

LOVE RURAL
bring it on



ABC National Rural News - Wednesday Email Update




Join the conversation with ABC Rural on Twitter or contact us via our feedback page.



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