Sign in

Laurence

@coomerchie.bsky.social
208 followers 372 following 265 posts

These are songs of the Friends I neglected—And the Foes, too, in part; These are songs that were mostly rejected—And songs from my heart. H. Lawson

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Laurence
Emily Feng @emilyzfeng.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"Being first, Ding argued, was a poor predictor of who wins." www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
newyorker.com
There Is No A.I. “Race”
We’re constantly told that Chinese advances in A.I. would have catastrophic consequences. But the first to innovate is rarely the one who wins.
0132
Reposted by Laurence
Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This pig outsmarted its cage. Pigs solve mazes, use mirrors and remember food locations for months, proof that factory farm confinement ignores real intelligence.
34811
Reposted by Laurence
Anna26458 @anna26458.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
michaelwest.com.au/national-pre...
michaelwest.com.au
Australia's most powerful media club has a legitimacy problem - Michael West
Former ambassador Gregory Andrews resigns from Canberra Writers' Festival over National Press Club, Pauline Hanson, arms industry, governance
134
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I've been slimed pretty extensively by the Murdoch press, and I don't even make the Top 50. #newscorp #auspol
crikey.com.au
We looked at 50 cases of people 'getting Murdoched'. Their abuse tells a familiar story
News Corp's techniques go well beyond standard robust journalism into character assassination — and even vendettas lasting years.
22110
Reposted by Laurence
Ronni🧂Salt @ronnisalt.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
I know Let's ask a question on public morality from a politician who organised a fake water sale for $80M, walked out on his own political party, had an affair with his staffer who got pregnant while he was still married, and who was recently found maggotted in a Canberra gutter Perfect
64724258
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Garrett Hardin's historically inaccurate (& surreptitiously racist) "tragedy of the commons" still gets quoted by environmentalists who should know better. I spent some time debunking this in the 1980s, as (more famously) did Elinor Ostrom. Amy Remeikis takes another swing. www.thenewdaily.com....
13010
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
3. Mostly aren't economically "left behind" . Rather maintain LNP downward envy & willingness to blame immigrants.Have maintained culture war attitudes they had as LNP voters, lost interest in free market reform. Happy with big government, as long as it helps them, and not the groups they diskile.
3123
Laurence @coomerchie.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
When your modus operandi is a being-tough personality cult pretence, there’s not going to be much heart there for any deep and meaningful connections beyond the haughty, self-interested notoriety of a no face.
000
Reposted by Laurence
Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Going on foreign soil and announcing, without *any* evidence that American elections are dishonest—simply because you are a lying sore loser—should be an impeachable offense. Presidents should not be allowed to intentionally undermine confidence in the US to leaders overseas.
544115633019
Reposted by Laurence
Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Obama: I am not immune to anger or doubt. But I do know this when we lose faith in each other, when we stop believing that voting matters… we open the door to the most ruthless or the most careless, or the most fearful among us who see some groups and some people as more equal than others
217127123721
Reposted by Laurence
Dana Bergstrom @danambergstrom.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Essential reading for Australians👇👇👇👇👇 Foreign interference in Aus politics Thanks @auspoldaily.bsky.social for such clear articulation
22315
Reposted by Laurence
The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 15/06/2026
The changes to CGT and negative gearing were 'Ground Zero' for the housing crisis. Since then, many changes have been introduced to try to make up for the fact that investors, not owner occupiers, have had the tax system on their side. @grogsgamut.bsky.social #auspol
616558
Reposted by Laurence
stranger @strangerous.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Prof Hal Pawson says Labor’s CGT changes are “to be commended” & shreds the LNP’s “well out of line” tax scheme that incentivised investors to pile in “causing inflation in the system”💥 Says we’re “already seeing the beginnings of the beneficial impact” of the changes.✅ #auspol
420772
Reposted by Laurence
stranger @strangerous.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Prominent economist Saul Eslake demolishes LNP’s ‘aspiration’ myth saying their 1999 CGT discount failed to build a nation of entrepreneurs & shareholders, in fact, those rates only fell since 1999, while “disproportionately favouring richer & older Australians”💥 #auspol
14297127
Reposted by Laurence
Ewart, Dave @davidewart.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
youtu.be/5SkGV6PonxE?...
youtu.be
Former WA Premier Dr Carmen Lawrence on why Australia needs a Public Inquiry into AUKUS.
YouTube video by Public Inquiry into AUKUS
0207
Laurence @coomerchie.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
In 2019 the likes of Tim Wilson offered fools gold and frankinginsense, conning people into voting against their own best interests. He’ll do the same this time - and they’ll gladly buy the toxic orange whip instead - as if we hadn’t enough of that from US politics.
000
Reposted by Laurence
aussiewitch.bsky.social @aussiewitch.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Yeah but I bet it made John Howard and all his LNP friends rich along with his terrible Aged Care System
172
Reposted by Laurence
Sally @twisal.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Exactly. This is an amazing oppurtunity for some of us who just want ONE home to live in with security. This then opens more rentals for others who also need a home.With my price point my mortgage will be less than my rent. I am sick and tired of the wealthy whinging. Pay what you should and STFU.
011
Reposted by Laurence
stranger @strangerous.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Clare O'Neil calls out the Coalition’s “huge mistake” in 1999 to change CGT & gift investors taxpayer handouts, saying it turned residential property into the country’s “most lucrative, low-risk investment”💥 “The tax system should not drive investment decisions”💯 #auspol
1225484
Reposted by Laurence
Aussie News @aussienews.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
In a major flex of Chinese industrial muscle, a company has used its own purpose-built ship to respond to rampant demand from Australian consumers. #environment #climate #change
theage.com.au
An enormous ship docked in Melbourne today. Its cargo could permanently change Australian motoring
In a major flex of Chinese industrial muscle, a company has used its own purpose-built ship to respond to rampant demand from Australian consumers. #environment #climate #change
053
Laurence @coomerchie.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
open.substack.com/pub/redbridg...
open.substack.com
Getting Poorer in Silence
For two decades the loudest voices in Australian politics have belonged to a certain group, not the people who simply earn a wage.
000
Reposted by Laurence
Helen @helenmaryme.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
A rare deep-sea jellyfish known as Halitrephes maasi — nicknamed the firework jellyfish — was recently filmed glowing like an underwater fireworks display at about 4,000 feet (1,225 meters) below the surface off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.
983152726
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
A tiny bit of good news. But NACC is so compromised a change of leadership won't be enough. Needs to be scrapped and restarted wtith new legislation and an entirely new management group #auspol
theguardian.com
Nacc chief Paul Brereton resigns as head of anti-corruption body
Brereton says ‘ongoing focus on matters relating to me personally’ were ‘drawing attention away from the commission’s core purpose’
54014
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Thoughts on Angus Taylor's anti-immigration plan 1. It's silly to call it "dog whistling". Pitched at a level low enough for an elephant to pick it up 2. Typically dumb of Taylor to announce, 2 years from an election, plans to go after permanent residents. Lots will be voters by 2027 #auspol
4244
Reposted by Laurence
Mr Denmore @mrdenmore.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
If Australia really thinks the brain-dead, racist idiots of One Notion are the answer to this nation’s challenges, my response is ‘you illiterate morons deserve everything you get’. I’m out of here.
0282
Reposted by Laurence
Mr Denmore @mrdenmore.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
One wonders at the intelligence of the Australian electorate when they vote for the hatchet-faced woman’s party of grifters as an expression of the interests of the ‘underdog’ when she’s getting flown the world around by a fascist billionaire masquerading as a poet.
107223
Reposted by Laurence
Mr Denmore @mrdenmore.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
And it's not just News Corp. The real estate industry spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars on media advertising last year. Media owners, like the banks, depend on endless property speculation. It's why these people sell the vested interest as the public interest.
1157
Reposted by Laurence
Mr Denmore @mrdenmore.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
As News Corp attacks sensible tax reform via its news pages, recall that by far its most profitable investment in Australia is its majority stake in the digital real estate giant REA Group, which has a market value of $22bn and an EBITDA margin of 62%. Of course they hate attacks on property spivs!
24118
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Ian McAuley sums up my view of the RBA rate increase ianmcauley.com/satur...
052
Reposted by Laurence
soleless.bsky.social @soleless.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Had a similar situation, I was trying to get up a ramp in my wheelchair, it happened twice that day, the place was busy, and those of light skin colour passed by in their multitudes. Both times, young ladies of Asian descent were the only ones to help. Hanson is the poster girl of the worst of us.
0126
Laurence @coomerchie.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
substack.com/@marcialangt...
substack.com
Marcia Langton (@marcialangton)
Every politician should read Kos Samaras’ devastating analysis of the waves and cycles of ant-immigrant hatred that stifle Australian social and economic growth. He might have added - but cannot becau...
000
Reposted by Laurence
koz @auskoz.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
#auspol #Trump #Iran "This is the reality facing the world at present, even if it may not be the reality existing in the mind of the US president." Laura Tingle www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04...
abc.net.au
The world faces a grim reality, even if Trump exists in a different one
The world is stuck watching a performative series of announcements about meetings that could, may, will happen, involving a president not dealing with the reality that he is in a weak and confused bar...
032
Reposted by Laurence
Possum @pollytics.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
So the US spent billions blowing shit up in Iran, now the rest of the world will spend billions on tolls to move stuff through the straits to rebuild the shit that the US and Israel blew up. Got it. We have to subsidise stupidity
1011330
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
As other jobs are automated or replaced by AI, and as educational standards rise, personal services will increase as a proportion of total. But this is mostly good, not a need for panic.
161
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
How did Australian universities go from free education to $50,000 arts degrees in 50 years?
thetimes.com.au
How did Australian universities go from free education to $50,000 arts degrees in 50 years?
World
53712
Reposted by Laurence
Tim Dunlop @timdunlop.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Good piece by John Quiggin on the ousting of Orban, including this observation: open.substack.com/pub/johnquig...
The text says: Orban was also a source of lavish grants and speaking gigs, ultimately paid for by long-suffering EU taxpayers. That’s all over now. Those who have taken those gigs will come under a lot more scrutiny. In Australia they include Tony Abbott, Alexander Downer, Brian Loughnane (former Liberal national director), Greg Sheridan and many less prominent but highly influential figures.
410948
Laurence @coomerchie.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04... Good thing we’ve got intercity high speed rail to keep us moving. Hey wait a minute…
abc.net.au
Qantas cuts domestic flights and raises fares as fuel costs blow out
Qantas will cut domestic flights due to higher fuel costs and the uncertainty of the Middle East war, as it flags as much as $800 million in extra fuel costs.
000
Laurence @coomerchie.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
substack.com/@jquiggin/no...
substack.com
John Quiggin (@jquiggin)
Now that Starmer is linking Trump and Putin in public comments, it’s safe to say that the “special relationship” is over. That means the end of AUKUS.
000
Reposted by Laurence
Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Trickle down economics is a hoax. This t-shirt is not. Get yours today and help me spread the word about this economic myth. bit.ly/4v94gzU
15569071335
Reposted by Laurence
Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Part 2 in "Just how big is the oil and gas industry". The private adult education sector pays almost as much in wages as does the gas industry. Profits are a tad different. live.thepoint.com.au/2026/03/the-...
Charts showing two columns

Adult community & other education industry: wages $3.9bn; profits, $1.7bn

Oil and gas industry: wages $4bn, profits $71.6bn
9265149
Reposted by Laurence
pen mcnulty @calliopeski.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
And they rely absolutely on the uncredited input of those who will have to implement the nonsense they come up with. Change for the sake of change.
051
Reposted by Laurence
Mr Denmore @mrdenmore.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
All these consultants are value extractors. They speak the language of managerialism. Overpaid vice-chancellors hire them to escape accountability and preserve their obscenely inflated incomes. The losers are our kids.
0309
Reposted by Laurence
Mr Denmore @mrdenmore.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
The consultancy frauds strike yet again. What will it take for the Australian public sector to wake up the fact that these people are overpaid spivs and PowerPoint show ponies? They have no substance whatsoever. #4Corners
68519
Laurence @coomerchie.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Yeah, what’s best about the “Australian way of life” is that we we’ve been quietly confident and skeptical enough of rank political foolishness to avoid turning it into some party political ideology with an ulterior motive.
000
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Seriously, it's time to scrap NACC. It's clear that nothing done by government ministers or senior bureaucrats is going to meet its threshold for action. The petty corruption it has prosecuted is trivial in relation to its gigantic budget. Ordinary police can handle.
rick-morton.ghost.io
NACC for Misunderstanding
At a tiny natural wine bar in Bologna, a French couple from Paris walked in while I was sat at the counter and struck up a conversation with the Italian server. 'I hate Paris,' he said with a big smile, 'because every time I go there my girlfriend says
33317
Reposted by Laurence
Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
73285813144
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
While #Albo preens himself on throwing kids off social media, his backers make millions out of people who lose more than they can afford. 1000 days and counting. #auspol www.agr.org.au/take-...
1298
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Tax the billionaires www.sanders.senate.g...
291
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Fuel price shocks should not be used to justify interest rate increases. RBA is supposed to focus on domestically generated "core inflation", as well as full employment objective. Possibility of global economic crisis suggests rates should be cut, or at least paused, not increased. #auspol
58327
Reposted by Laurence
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Trump has repudiated alliance with Australia (and all other democracies). Time to reciprocate. #auspol
smh.com.au
‘We don’t need anyone’s help’: Trump lashes out at NATO allies, Australia over Iran war
The president named Australia among the countries whose help he no longer needed in the effort to unblock the crucial Strait of Hormuz, and went as far as saying that the US should rethink its involvement in NATO.
3207