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Ben

@benitowill.bsky.social
786 followers 730 following 1K posts

Dad on Kulin land Bit of football, bit of politics, bit of sake and beer

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Reposted by Ben
Sam Lewis (she/they) 🌈 @battledinosaur.bsky.social · 23h
Simon Pearce, one of the architects of Manchester City’s extraordinary cheating scandal, remains an APL board member and Melb City vice-chair. his fingerprints are all over our sport, including leading the unbundling. how can anyone be okay with this? www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/ne...
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heute jedoch nicht @heutejedochnicht.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
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Meta-Adbusting in der Londoner U-Bahn
Jeffrey Epstein mit Ray Ban Meta-Smartglasses und Denkblase „Finally, a pair that suits me...“
Caption: „GLASSES FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T DO CONSENT“
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Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 01/10/2026
An update to Google Maps has revealed the extent of devastation during the three-year Gaza war and the severity of the continuing humanitarian crisis faced by the territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants. Read more: www.theguardian.com/world/2...
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Pretty clear to me there’s a very good case against this man for mass murder, and I’m saying that in as measured a fashion as I can. He’s order the killing of 234 people under no plausible war or legal justification. I am skeptical he will ever face legal accountability for til his but he should.
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Unseen Japan @unseenjapan.com · 01/10/2026
NEW: The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is becoming more important as Japan ties language proficiency to residency requirements. The problem? The test is in such high demand that there aren't enough seats for all the test-takers.
unseen-japan.com
JLPT Seats Are Running Out as Japan Ties More Visas to Japanese Tests
Just as the government is adding Japanese-language requirements to certain visas, the twice-yearly JLPTs are getting seriously crowded.
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Patrick Stokes @patrickstokes.com · 30/09/2026
If nothing else AI is making clear that there are people all around us for whom writing, art, and music are not communion with another mind, but just - wallpaper. Just pleasant things to look at. They think AI is conscious because they have no actual grasp of what it is to encounter another mind.
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Ben @benitowill.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
was not expecting that!
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"Norway's sovereign wealth fund has been prohibited from investing in a number of companies that the Future Fund invests in. Norway's exclusions list includes Airbus SE, BAE Systems, Boeing, Caterpillar, Elbit Systems, General Dynamics — all of which the Future Fund invests in"
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
BREAKING: Israel snatched an American teen from his West Bank home in the middle of the night — just days before his birthday and during his critical national exams. He's now been held for 3 months, with no charges. Netanyahu just came to the US for the *eighth* time since Trump took office.
zeteo.com
First Draft: Israel Has Kidnapped Another American Teenager
Abdalkareem Issa Ahmed Safi has Texas roots but languishes in a notorious jail, one more victim of Benjamin Netanyahu’s cruel impunity. Donald Trump, meanwhile, is losing some of his most ardent fans.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How's that social licence for AI going hey www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The RBA board said it voted unanimously for a hike in response to higher prices from the AI investment boom and amid fears that firms would begin passing on rising costs to consumers. Bullock singled out the US war on Iran, saying it could disrupt oil supply longer than expected.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Technology enthusiasts severely overestimate the average person’s desire or willingness or capacity to build and use AI agents. I understand some work roles that could mandate or encourage it but that is no way a tech revolution. Agents are best for structured, clearly delineated tasks.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 28/09/2026
Hey everyone remember how I was saying the AI X-risk criti-hype is a targeted project designed to kill regulations and further ensure an impatient rush on data centre contsruction www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
OpenAI breach proves need for more data centres, major parties say
Labor, Coalition agree OpenAI's Medicare breach proves the need for Australia to secure "a seat at the AI table" by rolling out data centres nationally.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Rare opportunity to invest in no future.
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CAMERON WILSON @cameronwilson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Scoop: A controversial Sydney data centre project that was proposed to be built 20 metres from houses has been withdrawn by its developer, citing "changes in the regulatory environment." with Ange Lavoipierre www.abc.net.au/news/...
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Andy Hazel @andyhazel.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“I'm not very comfortable with being a person in public,” she tells us. “I mean, I made an album, which was a lot of work, but they're just songs, and this is just music. And I love music.” My review of Julia Jacklin's album launch is now up at @themusiccomau.bsky.social:
themusic.com.au
Live Review: Julia Jacklin @ The Gem, Melbourne
Julia Jacklin and her band bring joy, laughter, and a string of surprise cover songs when they take over the Collingwood pub, The Gem, on Saturday.
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404 Media @404media.co · 28/09/2026
Executives working on AI at Microsoft and OpenAI admitted what its critics have been saying all along: LLms are predatory pieces of technology that have been built on what a Microsoft executive called “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions.” www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
404media.co
‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions."
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Tim Lyons @picketer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
When the public thinks about "AI" they think about chatbots and internet slop but the real *transformation* stuff is in business processes / backends - and it's far from clear to what extent consumers will get any derived benefits. See for eg the AI arms race between insurers and hospitals below.
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
More gas is used to convert gas to LNG exports than is used by the entire manufacturing industry. We don't need more gas. #NoNewGas #TAXtheGAS
Charts showing gas use/size by PJ:

LNG exports: 4,425PJ
LNG conversion plant use: 437PJ
Manufacturing: 370PJ
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 26/09/2026
I don't know if anyone cares, but Victoria's proposed rules do not "force datacentres to use renewable energy", and falsely stating that they do is actively helping the data centre industry do the pretend-fainting shock performance they're doing to try and kill even the weakest of regulations
But the peak body for datacentres has made no secret of its disappointment. It warns the new rules, which also force datacentres to use renewable energy, could cause investment to flow to other states.
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Mal Function @mister-fishy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
They tried to rescue him earlier but he still had some beers left
News / World26 September 2026, 12:19pm

Aussie man lost at sea for a month rescued after drinking his last beer
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Tony Martin @tonymartin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Hard to believe the guy who tried to do a secret deal with the NRA to water down Australia’s gun laws for cash would be involved in something dodgy. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
One Nation admits using party funds to build $56,000 shed on James Ashby’s private property
Email to members says money lent to a party-linked company to establish a micro distillery
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Asher Wolf @asherwolf.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
OpenAI first alerted Services Australia on September 10th. Someone at Services Australia read the email on Sept 11 and then waited 4 days before emailing ASD to inform them
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If ultimately there's no criminal responsibility for this incident here then FOI just became a lot easier if we ask AI agents to go find those documents for us. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Albanese says OpenAI hacked Medicare and told Australia months later via email to generic inbox
Prime minister says he told Sam Altman he was disappointed it had taken OpenAI ‘way too long’ to disclose breach
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 24/09/2026
Israel facing water shortages caused by destruction of Gaza’s treatment plants
theguardian.com
Israel facing water shortages caused by destruction of Gaza’s treatment plants
Five desalination plants shut down for days, while Gaza remains in grip of severe water and sanitation crisis Israel is facing weeks of water shortages after an exceptional algae bloom crippled much of its desalination capacity, in a crisis scientists say was triggered when Israeli attacks destroyed much of Gaza’s wastewater infrastructure, causing a massive discharge of untreated sewage. “Pollution does not recognise political borders,” said the Zalul Environmental Association, an Israeli NGO dedicated to protecting the country’s seas and shores. “The discharge of untreated sewage from the Gaza Strip into the sea is contributing to the worsening crisis affecting the Israeli desalination facilities. The wastewater contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which feed microalgae and cyanobacteria and may intensify their blooms.” Continue reading...
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AP Stylebook @apstylebook.com · 23/09/2026
Artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, want or understand. Avoid language that gives them human characteristics.
apnews.com
https://apnews.com/article/openai-safety-ai-framework-089e75b95bc935af092da7b79d92706d
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Simon Rosenberg @simonrosenberg.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"The Australian Govt says it is concerned that such a ban could inadvertently harm Palestinian businesses, workers and livelihoods. It is difficult to see what evidence underpins that concern." There is none. A pathetic excuse to avoid real action. #auspol pearlsandirritations.com/post/2026/09...
pearlsandirritations.com
Australia says a settlement trade ban could hurt Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority wants one
Australia declined to join 12 countries backing action on trade with illegal West Bank settlements, citing concerns about Palestinian livelihoods. The Palestinian Authority supports the restrictions –...
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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
No one would be able to say this stuff if the fossil fuel industry didn't own both the people saying it *and* the media ecosystem reporting it. But here we are.
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Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 23/09/2026
Poorly disguising masks have fully fallen and fascists are no longer pretending to be anything else and yet our public discourse is still filled with hedging takes around "anti-immigration activists", "legitimate concerns" and "populism"
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Emma Shortis @emmashortis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Another day, another threat to commit genocide from our most important security ally. But whaddaya gonna do 🤷‍♀️
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Wattle It Be @wattleitbe.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I do hope we stop importing these trucks to Australia too. They are too big for our suburban roads and many drivers use them to intimidate other drivers on the road
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The European Union is tightening the regulatory backdoor through which US automakers have been quietly importing around 7k large SUVs and pickup trucks/year. “The revised rules, expected to launch in 2027, are designed to close loopholes that Brussels says allow unsafe vehicles onto European roads.”
europesays.com
Too big for Europe: America's pickup trucks became a trade war flashpoint - EUROPE SAYS
America loves its pickup trucks. The Ford F-150, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, the Ram 1500: these are not merely vehicles. They are cultural monuments on
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Unsafe vehicle in Europe 👆
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Andy Fleming @slackbastard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
#WWJD News: 'As well as backing One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, Brethren “Elect Vessel” Bruce Hales told his flock Australia should use its uranium to “build a few bombs”, to obliterate Iran and that the Brethren needed to “overcome … our Jewishness”.' www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...
theage.com.au
‘More power to redheads’: Brethren leader backs Hanson, building nuclear bombs
In a speech praising Hanson, the Exclusive Brethren leader also told his flock Australia should use its uranium to “build a few bombs”.
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Tim Lyons @picketer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Ah yes, something never before seen in an Australian school.
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André Brett @drdrehistorian.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Well gee I sure hope we don’t have anything like a hugely xenophobic decades-long national discourse about immigration or anything, because if we did that would be really bad! Hold on, I’m just being informed…
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Aimee Hulbert @aimeeh.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
“Sydney’s deputy mayor shares her vision for the future of Melbourne” words actually printed in The Age today 🫠
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Nick Evershed!? @nickevershed.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Turns out the "AI will cause a catastrophe" crowd are right, but not because of self-improving superintelligent machines, but because people keep using it for incredibly stupid things jfc edition.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
edition.cnn.com
Exclusive: US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report, sources say | CNN Politics
The episode shows the risks of using this new, relatively poorly understood technology in the middle of the Iran war
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Beyond morality, I think this sort of stuff is a strong recession indicator. My prediction is that as the economy gets more and more uncertain and existential for people, we will see more advertising leaning directly into outrage, pain, xenophobia, loneliness, nostalgia, gambling, and addiction.
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Hikosaemon @hikosaemon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Japan remains sliightly better than Saudi Arabia as a place to be a woman. Japan ranks 117th in gender equality, with no clear effect from first female PM mainichi.jp/english/arti...
mainichi.jp
Japan ranks 117th in gender equality, with no clear effect from first female PM - The Mainichi
TOKYO -- Japan ranked 117th among 145 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report 2026 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Sept. 16, up one pl
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Nick Feik @nickfeik.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Pro-Israel lobby group has been using AI to generate campaigns of complaint letters to the ABC
smh.com.au
Activist group using AI to flood ABC with thousands of bias complaints
The AI system lets campaigners deliver thousands of messages from their supporters with different language, tone and length but the same meaning.
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Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
It is exhausting to see people talking as if "listening to Jews" means endorsing Israel's actions or supporting a Jewish ethnostate. Many Jews do not think ethnostates are a good idea, for pretty obvious reasons.
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Simon Rosenberg @simonrosenberg.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
A Labor govt who won't cut $ to wealthy private schools does not inspire confidence that it will take on "the fight against socio-economic segregation between schools, growing privatisation and the marginalisation of public schools as a pillar of democracy." pearlsandirritations.com/post/2026/09...
pearlsandirritations.com
Why are we still funding Australia’s wealthiest schools?
Australia’s wealthiest private schools continue receiving public funding despite mounting budget pressures, raising questions about whether government spending on education reflects need and the broad...
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
“You wouldn’t steal the entirety of human knowledge” Oh actually, you would.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 19/09/2026
Journalists reporting on people who reject AI like they're doing a piece on some weird cult rather than the mainstream opinion among the vast majority of young people around the world www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Young people pushing back against artificial intelligence
AI may be here to stay, but the generation that will inherit the results of the guidelines set for its use has something to say about that.
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Kākāpō numbers pass 300 for the first time in 75 years. New Zealand’s flightless, nocturnal parrot now totals 325 birds, after a record 90 chicks fledged this season, built on the Department of Conservation’s recovery programme, which started with just 51 birds in 1995. DOC buff.ly/7YIOBd9
doc.govt.nz
Kākāpō population reaches new milestone
The official population of the critically endangered kākāpō has reached a recovery-era high of 325 birds.
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Shana @shanamd.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I am SORRY for sharing something that was posted on the other place, but this is too good.
The future pope at a party with a caption “they don’t know I’m the future pope”
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Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
My "detaining visa overstayers will not lead to ICE-style raids" t-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by the shirt.
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Being hit by an SUV or ute increases the chances of pedestrian or cyclist fatality by 44% or 82% for children
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 17/09/2026
A new cat has been discovered in Bolivia, the first time in over a century that scientists have confirmed a new feline species. Named Leopardus tilcayo, the cat weighs roughly five pounds and has a light brown coat patterned with dark rosettes.
washingtonpost.com
New cat species discovered in Bolivia for first time in over 100 years
Named Leopardus tilcayo, the new cat looks not unlike a leopard that shrank to the size of a house kitten.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
GENEVA (AP) — UN-backed human rights experts find 'reasonable grounds' to believe US committed war crimes in 2 deadly strikes on Iran.
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