Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by AlastairJNZ

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 12h

We have truly not yet figured out how to cope with a person or institution that is "aware" of climate change, "accepts the science", but then decides to continue actively worsening it anyway

We don't even have a word or a phrase for this!

theconversation.com/mark-carneys...

Mark Carney’s climate inaction is at odds with his awareness of climate change’s existential threat

Climate action no longer seems to be a priority for Prime Minister Mark Carney, despite his previous activism. This is bad news for Canadians and the climate.

theconversation.com

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AlastairJNZ @alastairjnz.bsky.social · 14h

Voting closes today - drop your ballot off before midday!

Huia Sue @huiasue.bsky.social · 1d

Vote first thing tomorrow, & take it to a ballot box near you
I Voted for people to protect parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, recycling, kind & connected communities, public transport, social housing, cycle trails, green spaces, public ownership of water & services, disability action & Māori Wards

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Newsroom NZ @newsroom.co.nz · 15h

Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Chris Finlayson offer praise for the Waitangi Tribunal – and damning criticism of the coalition Government. Sam Sachdeva reports.

Hell hath no fury like an attorney-general scorned

newsroom.co.nz

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Reposted by AlastairJNZ

Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 15h

Peace Nobel Prize goes to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela" and "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" share.google/slEstTt7TFhN...

Nobel Peace Prize 2025: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins

Nominations closed in January but US President Donald Trump had led a public campaign to win the award.

share.google

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Sharon Murdoch @domesticanimal.bsky.social · 1d

Govt to cut #JobSeeker benefit for 18 & 19 year olds who’s parents earn over $65,000, even if the teens have a disability or health condition. With #CostOfLiving & the job shortage they’re cranking up stress levels to 11, all to meet a target.
My #cartoon today about hard-nosed #NZpol

Cartoon. Title: “Job Seeee-e-e-e” Image shows PM Christopher Luxon at the open hatch of a small plane, high above farmland. He’s leaning out, and holding up a parachute pack, labelled “Job Seeker” He’s calling out to someone falling from the plane, “And I’ve kept your parachute because you kids from low-income homes need some motivation” Then he adds, “Don’t let that disability slow you down!”

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Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 1d

The Discord age-verification hack is much worse than was originally reported. 70,000 users were affected, with images of IDs, selfies, user names, IP addresses and, in some cases, financial details.

Hackers are posting screenshots from over 1.5 terabytes of stolen data.

404 Media @404media.co · 1d

BREAKING: A catastrophic breach has impacted Discord user data including selfies and identity documents uploaded as part of the app’s verification process, email addresses, phone numbers, approximately where the user lives, and much more.

🔗 www.404media.co/the-discord-...

The Discord Hack is Every Users’ Worst Nightmare

A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive informa...

www.404media.co

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Reposted by AlastairJNZ

Mongabay @mongabay.com · 1d

In 2024, the Amazon Rainforest underwent its most devastating forest fire season in more than 20 years.

According to a new study, the fire-driven forest degradation released an estimated 791 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2024, a sevenfold increase compared with the previous two years.

Amazon Rainforest hits record carbon emissions from 2024 forest fires

In 2024, the Amazon Rainforest underwent its most devastating forest fire season in more than two decades. According to a new study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, the fire-driven…

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by AlastairJNZ

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 2d

If you come for my people, you come through me.

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Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 2d

#nzpol

GOOD NEWS ALERT 🚨

Today the government relented to pressure from the @livingwageaotearoa.bsky.social and retained the requirement for contracted workers to be paid at least the Living Wage rate in Government Contracts. Around 5,000 workers will likely benefit from this decision

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Newsroom NZ @newsroom.co.nz · 2d

Exclusive: The Government has avoided questions about whether it’s joining preparations for a US confrontation with China. Until now, the public has had no insight.

Secret defence notes pointing to sensitive China preparation left at op shop

newsroom.co.nz

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Reposted by AlastairJNZ

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 2d

"The US, which has positioned itself as a major fossil fuel exporter, sold $80B in oil and gas abroad through July, the last month with data available. China exported $120B in green technology over the same period."

Like the man said, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. 🌬️

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AlastairJNZ @alastairjnz.bsky.social · 2d

A little bit of historic (1920’s?) architecture in Auckland’s Albert St. The Dalgety building with it’s decorative ram a symbol of the wool trading origins of the company.

A four storey 1920’s concrete office building with various decorative elements and a much later 5th floor addition on top. The building is accented with bright dappled sunlight reflecting from a glass building on the opposite side of the street (behind the camera).
More information on this building here: https://collection.fletcherarchives.co.nz/objects/52888/dalgety-co-ltd-new-zealand-premises-1930-auckland-office-albert-st-auckland

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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 3d

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted “no one has died” as a result of U.S. foreign aid cuts. In Myanmar, the grieving father of a 2-year-old boy who died after their food rations were cut calls such claims a lie.

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

bit.ly

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AlastairJNZ @alastairjnz.bsky.social · 3d

Even more evidence for the urgent need to decarbonise our energy systems

New Zealand oceans warming 34% faster than global average, putting homes and industry at risk, report finds

NZ$180bn worth of housing and $26bn of infrastructure at risk of flooding and storm damage, new government report finds

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by AlastairJNZ

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 3d

$41 million: The amount of money we’ve raised for indie bookstores since 2020.

$0: The amount of money Amazon has raised for indie bookstores since 1994.

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Michael Bain @mikejbain.bsky.social · 3d

So I stumbled across a protest today outside an Aerospace Conference. Pro-Palestine protesters calling shame on an industry that supplies satellite info to the IDF to target innocent Palestinians. Judith was there as was RocketLab & the US military. 1/ #nzpolitics #KeepSpace4Peace

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AlastairJNZ @alastairjnz.bsky.social · 3d

Heard my first pīpīwharauroa of the season on Waiheke this morning

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Sharon Murdoch @domesticanimal.bsky.social · 3d

The Govt wants to cut Health NZ staff working on alcohol harm & end its research & social marketing campaigns. Sixty five organisations have signed an open letter to the PM, calling for alcohol industry to be excluded from policy making.
My #cartoon today #NZpol #alcohol #Health #PublicHealth

Cartoon. Title: “Sponsored by the Alcohol Lobby”. Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and Assoc Justice Minister Nicole McKee, drinking together. McKee hands her beer to Doocey and says, “Hold my beer” “I’m going to sort out these Public Health boffins. Lower right it says, “Govt ignores expert advice on alcohol”

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AlastairJNZ @alastairjnz.bsky.social · 3d

This very cool new public artwork has now been completed at Wynyard Quarter

Waka Moana

Waka Moana is a landmark new sculptural installation for the Wynyard Quarter’s Daldy Street.

www.audo.co.nz

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Reposted by AlastairJNZ

Russell Brown @publicaddress.bsky.social · 4d

Treasury: "Because of this, it is hard to reconcile (from a purely logical perspective) how building a new medical school is going to be better than any non-build option, if we aren’t facing a capacity constraint."

The University of Waikato paid Steven Joyce $1m to get $82.85m of taxpayers' money.

Matthew Littlewood @matthewdunedin84.bsky.social · 4d

www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin... Treasury repeatedly criticised Waikato Medical School proposal, but those complaints fell on deaf ears. @publicaddress.bsky.social

Treasury warnings over medical school ignored

The government ignored repeated warnings from Treasury not to approve the new Waikato Medical School amid concerns about cost overruns. The...

www.odt.co.nz

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Mike Keil @mikekeil.bsky.social · 4d

A good news story! Have a great day.
Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity

Developing countries lead the historic clean energy charge but the US and EU rely more on fossil fuels than before, a think tank study shows.

www.bbc.com

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Amy K @amyklassen.bsky.social · 4d

It's true! When I studied economics, I was stunned by the ROI of social programs. Every dollar spent on childcare returns about $2.80 to the economy, and healthcare delivers even greater returns with broader social impact.

A universal basic income is simply smart fiscal policy. Why the reluctance?

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 4d

For every €1 provided through a Basic Income For Artists pilot program in Ireland, the government got €1.46 back. So it’s being made permanent.

Over and over we see it. It saves public money to provide public housing. And it makes public money to provide basic income.

We can’t afford to NOT do it.

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 4d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

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AlastairJNZ @alastairjnz.bsky.social · 4d

In a salad

AlastairJNZ @alastairjnz.bsky.social · 4d

In a hard-won step forward for marine conservation, the Hauraki Gulf/ Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill passed its third reading today 🌊🐟🐬🦞🪼

House

bills.parliament.nz

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Melanie Newfield @melanienewfield.bsky.social · 5d

On my recent visit to #TiritiriMatangi island I took this video in the forest. The birdsong here is extraordinary. I’ve never heard anything like it.

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