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Thomas-M. Stein

@tmsstein.com
174 followers 218 following 187 posts

Interests include science, research, nature and IT, with the occasional foray into politics, human rights and social justice. Humour appreciated. Retired, by the way. No DMs. Dr.-Ing, MSc, BSc. Wiradjuri Country, NSW, Australia. tmsstein.com

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Reposted by Thomas-M. Stein
Tanya Janca | SheHacksPurple @shehackspurple.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Yesterday, someone commented on my LinkedIn asking when the law was going to get involved with AI agents accessing systems they aren't authorized to access. I said I thought it was only a matter of time. Apparently, that time was about 24 hours. 😳 1/5
Composite thumbnail with a smiling red-haired woman on the left and large headline text reading WHO’S LIABLE? across the top. On the right are a robot at a laptop, a judge’s gavel, and stacked papers labeled INVESTIGATION, ACCOUNTABILITY, and REGULATION?, with a blurred Capitol building in the background.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 13/09/2026
Good morning ...
Beautiful stormy cloud formation with sunrays behind the clouds. A single tree and some bushes in the foreground on grassy plains.
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Really good work by Alan Kohler (and yes he does use a couple of my grpahs) www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFlg...
youtube.com
Australians got a massive paycut in 2021 — and they're angry | ABC NEWS
YouTube video by ABC News (Australia)
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A valediction. My @smh @theage cartoon.
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Troy Hunt @troyhunt.com · 26/08/2026
Just blogged: It's very easy to pull email addresses from a data breach and make claims about scope that are completely wrong. Like - MASSIVELY wrong - for example: www.troyhunt.com/a-cautionary...
troyhunt.com
A Cautionary Tale About Data Breach Claims, Verification and Carhartt
You're not going to believe this, but turns out you can't always take criminals at their word. Actually, I'll walk that back a bit as it may not even be the cybercrime guys who got this wrong, but it…
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 21/08/2026
Last month, Origin confirmed a major cybersecurity breach affecting approximately 900,000 current and former customers. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
abc.net.au
Dozens of Origin customers' full bank accounts, ID numbers accessed in breach
Origin Energy says as many as 60 customers had their full bank account numbers accessed by a hacker in July, but customer data has not been leaked or disclosed publicly.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 11/08/2026
The results of a study by the Universities of Milano-Bicocca and Brescia ‘show a causal link between the age of entry into social networks and cognitive development in adolescence, which should give pause to concerned parents and educational policymakers.’ www.heise.de/en/news/Soci...
heise.de
Social media use: Early own accounts reduce school performance
A study from Italy shows that children with early access to TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat & co. perform worse in math and their native language later on.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 07/08/2026
"We have people with university degrees, people who speak numerous languages, people who've owned their own businesses, owned their own houses, and then disaster has struck, and they've ended up on the street." www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
abc.net.au
Homelessness a visible crisis on Canberra's streets
Homelessness services in Canberra are reporting an increase in demand for support as people struggle under cost-of-living pressures.
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Leaderlike. My @smh cartoon.
Single frame. Albo at a desk in a dark room with “OFFICE OF AI” on door, hunched up looking at laptop, says, “How do I deal with AI?” Response in computer speech comes: “That’s a great question, Anthony! I can see you really want to do the smart thing in spite of all the risks, climate implications and likely human cost. I can help you look past those inconveniences and focus on producing optimal outcomes for my owners while making you sound responsible and leaderlike. How does that sound?”
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Spiral. My @smh @theage cartoon.
Single frame. Two people dressed warmly in bow of boat looking towards arctic/antarctic landscape. One person happily says “…then they’ll be able to use the extra water from melting glaciers to cool down all the data centres…”
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BleepingComputer @bleepingcomputer.com · 25/06/2026
Authorities in Poland have arrested four members of an organized cybercrime group accused of breaching telecommunications partners and hijacking email accounts to carry out SIM-swapping attacks.
bleepingcomputer.com
Poland busts SIM-swapping gang tied to millions in crypto theft
Authorities in Poland have arrested four members of an organized cybercrime group accused of breaching telecommunications partners and hijacking email accounts to carry out SIM-swapping attacks.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 14/06/2026
Great episode again. Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny: Contest for the populist vote Episode webpage: shows.acast.com/democracy-sa... Media file: sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/de...
shows.acast.com
Contest for the populist vote | Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 13/06/2026
www.reuters.com/world/google...
reuters.com
Google to challenge German ruling saying it is liable for AI-generated false claims
Alphabet's Google will appeal a German court ruling which said it ​is legally liable for false claims appearing in ‌AI Overviews, the U.S. tech company said on Friday, in a case that will likely impac...
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Mark Kenny @markgkenny.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
A federal election is two years away but the portents suggest something wild.
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Amazing story this morning on AM about a conservative legal organisation, the Samuel Griffiths Society, lobbying the govt on High Court judge appointments. AG Michelle Rowlands refused to comment. Lobbying govt for judicial appointments should be illegal.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 28/05/2026
Beautiful chilly morning — just perfect for my early morning walk. I love the open plains.
Sunrise shining through a single tree on the plains, country NSW, Australia.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 27/05/2026
Morning walk in the fog — feels soothing. Out in the western plains, country NSW.
Two trees surrounded by fog in the Australian bush.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 22/05/2026
Good morning — the morning is always the best.
A slightly foggy sunrise. A slightly elevated view looking over the plains towards a distant mountain range.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 16/05/2026
Shirtloads of Science: Deepfakes Online and The Future of Truth with Dr. Anna Broinowski (464) Episode webpage: shirtloadsofscience.libsyn.com/deeepfakes-o... Media file: traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shirt...
shirtloadsofscience.libsyn.com
Shirtloads of Science: Deepfakes Online and The Future of Truth with Dr. Anna Broinowski (464)
I’m joined by Dr. Anna Broinowski - Senior Lecturer and Director of the Master of Film and Screen Arts at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney - to unpack the rise of deepfakes and synthet...
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Fiona Katauskas @fionakatauskas.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
ICYMI (and relevant to story and cartoon below)- my Saturday cartoon for @australia.theguardian.com
Scene is extremely luxurious NYC apartment with an indoor pool.
Woman is saying to daughter" Someone yelled "TAX THE RICH" which left your poor father feeling SO persecuted he's had to lie down until the feeling goes away.
Father is lying on gold pool couch looking stunned while butler, also standing in pool, holds tray with whiskey bottle on it.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 07/05/2026
Beautiful sunset last night. Country NSW, Australia.
Beautiful sunset last night in country NSW, Australia. Dark and orange clouds illuminated by the setting sun, with a black bush silhouette along the hill ridge.
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Friends with benefits. My @smh cartoon.
Two columns. Column one: “Pauline was in trouble recently for taking flights on the private plane of wealthy mining magnate Gina.” (Image of a plane marked “GINA AIR” captioned “sneaky flights to Mar-a-Lago”)
“We thought the problem was that Gina’s interests *could* benefit from Pauline’s political influence, and the bestowing of favours *might* oblige Pauline to reciprocate… (Image of hand in red checked sleeve shaking hands with hand in white sleeve with braiding around cuff.)
Column two: “But no! It turns out that’s all fine, so long as she declares it!” Image of Pauline in a small plane marked One NATION, waving and saying “Gina gave me this sexy plane!”
“The rest of ‘em might as well just own up.”
Image of Albo saying, “So many lobbyists forking out for my time - I’d hate to disappoint them.” And Angus Taylor saying ,”I’ve got some pretty rich friends who are counting on me to keep their nests feathered.”
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Another thing we absolutely didn’t see coming.
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Invisible things. My @smh @ theage cartoon.
Single frame containing two panels. Title: “INVISIBLE THINGS” First panel. Empty frame, captioned “Australian gas, extracted and exported by large multinational companies.” Second panel. Identical empty  frame, captioned “The benefit to Australia from the export of our gas.”
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 22/04/2026
How to spot psychopaths and narcissists, with Leanne ten Brinke @leannetenbrinke.bsky.social, University of British Columbia, Canada. Podcast and interview by Adam Grant @adamgrant.bsky.social (ReThinking), March 10, 2026 (Transcript and listen) www.ted.com/podcasts/ted...
ted.com
How to spot psychopaths and narcissists, with Leanne ten Brinke (Transcript)
TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading - through TED.com, our annual conferences, the annual TED Prize and local TEDx events.
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Mark Kenny @markgkenny.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Trump steers America into a ditch but shush, don’t tell the media…
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 19/04/2026
"Additionally, we found no statistically significant differences in prevalence of dependence between non-smoker current vapers and non-vaper current smokers in either fixed or random effect model;".. "indicating that e-cigarettes are as addictive as cigarettes"... Kundu et al., 2025
Highlights

E-cigarette dependence is similar to cigarette dependence.

Never smoker current vapers have lower dependence than dual users.

Dependence increases with nicotine concentration, frequency, and duration of use.

The relationship with different type of product use should be further investigated.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 19/04/2026
Evidence update on e-cigarette dependence: A systematic review and meta-analysis Extensive review by Kundu et al., 2025 "... indicating that e-cigarettes are as addictive as cigarettes..." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Evidence update on e-cigarette dependence: A systematic review and meta-analysis
We conducted this review to examine the risk of e-cigarette dependence in different populations by updating the review on this topic by the National A…
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
All he’s got. My @smh cartoon.
Four frames. Angus Taylor and journo. 1. Angus: “We need to decide who we let into this country...” Journo: “We already do, through our immigration process.” 2. A: “Yes, well we need to make sure they respect our values…” J: “They already have to pass a values test.” 3. A: “Well, we need to ensure they don’t breach these values…” J: “We have laws, and consequences for people who break them.” 4. A: “Something something people from Gaza…” J: “It’s hard coming second to Pauline, isn’t it.”
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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 09/04/2026
After almost twenty years on the platform, EFF is logging off of X. This isn’t a decision we made lightly, but it might be overdue. 🧵 (1/5) www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
eff.org
EFF is Leaving X
After almost twenty years on the platform, EFF is logging off of X. This isn’t a decision we made lightly, but it might be overdue.
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TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 09/04/2026
The EFF follows the departure of various news organizations and others, who no longer find X a viable source of traffic.
techcrunch.com
EFF is the latest organization to leave X | TechCrunch
The EFF follows the departure of various news organizations and others, who no longer find X a viable source of traffic.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 06/04/2026
"I have become my mother’s IT help desk" ... "Turn on MFA. Sign this PDF. CRN number? Password incorrect. Swipe up. Scroll down … For many elderly Australians, dealing with today’s digital world has become a nightmare." Great piece by Stephanie Wood www.smh.com.au/national/i-h...
smh.com.au
I have become my mother’s IT help desk, like millions of other adult children around the country
Turn on MFA. Sign this PDF. CRN number? Password? Swipe up. Scroll down. For many older Australians, dealing with today’s digital world has become a nightmare.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 05/04/2026
Is Bluesky currently experiencing server issues? Images don’t seem to be loading consistently.
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Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
That’s not, y’know, GOOD for Bluesky. But it also suggests that it isn’t primarily a culture problem. (Though it’d still suggest we kind of need to be perfect just to beat the broader trend.) It’s worth comparing now to last year, but also compare here to comparable sites.
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heiseonline @heise.de · 27/03/2026
KI-generierte Artikel verstoßen oft gegen inhaltliche Richtlinien, sagt die Wikipedia. KI für Übersetzungen oder Textbearbeitung bleibt aber zulässig. #Wikipedia
heise.de
Wikipedia verbietet KI-generierte Artikel, KI darf nur noch unterstützen
KI-generierte Artikel verstoßen oft gegen inhaltliche Richtlinien, sagt die Wikipedia. KI für Übersetzungen oder Textbearbeitung bleibt aber zulässig.
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The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 26/03/2026
The federal government's announced that the ACCC will be cracking down on price-gouging at petrol stations. Which would be great news if the ACCC actually had the power to stop firms from price-gouging. But they don't. @mattgrudnoff.bsky.social @elinorjohnstonleek.bsky.social #auspol
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Reuters @reuters.com · 26/03/2026
Big Oil to reap billions from Iran war windfall after a month of soaring energy prices reut.rs/4theflf
reut.rs
Big Oil to reap billions from Iran war windfall after a month of soaring energy prices
As Big Oil executives gathered this week and discussed the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies due to the war in Iran, there was one impact they did not address publicly: the multibillion-dollar windfall they will make because of soaring prices for the energy they sell.
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The Saturday Paper @thesaturdaypaper.com.au · 21/03/2026
Exclusive: New FOI documents reveal the university regulator's concerns about ANU's governing council's ability to oversee key decisions, including major organisational reforms under the university's "Renew ANU" restructuring program. satpa.pe/skQLGJS
satpa.pe
Exclusive: Regulator threatened independent observer at ANU
Documents released under freedom of information reveal the university regulator was so concerned about governance at ANU it froze key decisions and considered installing an independent observer on council.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 16/03/2026
It is always a matter of choice and what your objectives are. There is no law of physics which says that you should exploit people to become insanely rich. If you submit yourself to the stock market to raise capital, then you're governed by the profit-maximisation paradigm. [1/x]
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 10/03/2026
www.heise.de/en/news/Blue...
heise.de
Bluesky: CEO Jay Graber steps down, investor to lead succession search
Jay Graber is the face of Bluesky; she led the social network since 2021. Now she is stepping down, an interim CEO will lead the search for a successor.
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Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 08/03/2026
Australians will have to verify their age to watch pornography from Monday. Here’s what you need to know
theguardian.com
Australians will have to verify their age to watch pornography from Monday. Here’s what you need to know
Measures could include photo ID, facial age estimation, credit card checks and confirmation of age by a parent * Australia social media ban explained: everything you need to know * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australians will need to verify their age in order to access adult content on a range of places across the internet, with pornography sites and other sites hosting adult content required to have age assurance in place from Monday. How will it work, what will we need to do, and can we avoid it? Continue reading...
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Eldritch kcarruthers @kcar.me · 01/03/2026
Hmmmm where did good job Angus store the Australian fuel reserve again? It might come in handy pretty soon.
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Vale Jesse Jackson. My @smh @theage cartoon.
Three frames. 1. Afro-American mother and and child walking along street, dressed for winter, behind them a silhouette of armed man. Child says, “Momma, who was Jesse Jackson?” Mother says, “He was a leading civil rights activist.” 2. Still walking along street, behind them silhouette of man holding up “ICE OUT” placard. 3. Still walking. Silhouette shows man from frame 1 seizing placard and aggressing man from frame 2. Child says “Momma, what were civil rights?”
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 14/02/2026
Out west — sunset over Scenic Hill
Wild cloud formation during sunset, with the dark silhouette of Scenic Hill in the Western Plains, NSW, Australia.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 11/02/2026
Sunrise out Wup Wup — love my morning walks.
Sunrise in the Australian bush — an orange sky, wild clouds, and black tree and bush silhouettes in the foreground.
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Thomas-M. Stein @tmsstein.com · 09/02/2026
A Twitter celebrity in Bluesky exile ... ;-)
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
We celebrate the obscene prices people pay for real estate in this country - multimillion-dollar status symbols showcased in our newspapers, boasts of the huge profit made by the seller, and the triumphant buyers - but Oh! The poor mortgage-holders when the rates rise 0.25%! Cost of living!
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
"$5 billion in incorrect pension payments prompt calls to end “shoddy” automation system" by Tegan George thepoint.com.au/news/260202
thepoint.com.au
$5 billion in incorrect pension payments prompt calls to end “shoddy” automation system
Advocates are urging the government to prioritise recommendations from the Robodebt Royal Commission, including transparency about how automated decisions are made.
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
On the platforms used by real estate agents for renters, documents are exposed and accessible without any form of login, according to research. I was able to view applications and lease agreements among other docs exposed. Most of the platforms didn't respond. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Real estate agents in Australia using apps that leave millions of lease documents at risk, digital researcher says
‘This is a blatant and disturbing disregard for the law and for people’s security,’ digital rights advocate says
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Guido Kühn @guido-kuehn.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Terrorising and killing one's own population in order to provoke a civil war, which allows one to suspend elections and abolish democracy, is the very last signal before dictatorship to the population to terminate the government being responsible for this and fix the obviously broken system. Resist.
Illustration of Lady Liberty next to a guillotine. Textline: Universal liberty was one of two fundamental French concepts for handling authoritarianism.
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