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alastairjnz.bsky.social
AlastairJNZ
@alastairjnz.bsky.social
330 followers 350 following 1.5K posts
Kia ora!
Aotearoa/ NZ.
-ai
Opinions my own and do not represent those of any employer etc.
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alastairjnz.bsky.social
Graphic representation of my modest 115 observations on @inaturalist.bsky.social so far this year
Observed taxa arranged as a hierarchical "sunburst" diagram. The base of the hierarchy is at the center, starting with "Life" and ending with species at the outer edges. The size of each arc is proportional to the number of observations of that taxon, and colors roughly correspond to iNaturalist’s usual taxon colors (green for plants, orange for insects, blue for most other animals, etc.). Over ¾ of the diagram is green, indicating my observations are predominantly of plants.
November 25, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
kirstyjohnston.bsky.social
Fossil fuel companies were given confidential drafts of legislation during their (successful) two-year campaign to weaken oil and gas regulation and overturn the offshore exploration ban - new reporting from me via the OIA

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules
A paper trail shows just how far ministers went to accommodate the oil and gas industry's wishlist.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
cait05.bsky.social
“One of the most powerful forms of climate communication is just telling people that a majority of other people think climate change is happening, human-caused, a serious problem and a priority for action,” said Prof Anthony Leiserowitz at Yale University in the US.
brenttoderian.bsky.social Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 3d
A huge 89% majority of global people [56% even in the United States] want stronger action to fight the #ClimateCrisis, but mistakenly believe they’re in a minority.

People want action. Smart cities are taking action. Nations should support city action.

#ActionStartsHere @mayors4climate.bsky.social
Activate climate’s ‘silent majority’ to supercharge action, experts say
Making concerned people aware their views are far from alone could unlock the change so urgently needed
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
drcuriosity.bsky.social
It's weird, it's like if you give teachers the additional support they've been crying out for for years, achievement gets lifted. Amazing, who could have predicted that.
November 25, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
drcuriosity.bsky.social
"The 12-week acceleration trial involved approximately 1,500 Year 7 and 8 students who were a year or more behind. Students received targeted, small-group tutoring up to four times a week across three models: in-person, hybrid and online."
insidegovernment.co.nz/maths-catch-...
Maths 'catch-up' trial for students offers support solution - Inside Government NZ
New data from a nationwide maths acceleration trial for Year 7 and 8 students who needed extra support, shows students made, on average, a year to two years of progress in developing fundamental maths...
insidegovernment.co.nz
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
davelevitan.bsky.social
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
rnzrss.bsky.social
How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules
How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules
A paper trail shows just how far ministers went to accommodate the oil and gas industry's wishlist.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
alastairjnz.bsky.social
Wordle 1,619 6/6

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November 23, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
petergeoghegan.bsky.social
🚨 SCOOP: Toyota and Aston Martin secretly lobbied a Conservative cabinet minister to weaken Britain’s climate policy.

We only know this because Democracy for Sale won a two-year legal fight to force the government to hand over the documents.

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/victory-we...
Victory! We’ve won major legal battle exposing car industry lobbying
After two years we can finally reveal “backdoor channels where corporate money hijacks our democracy.”
democracyforsale.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
slack2thefuture.bsky.social
What RFK Jr. doesn’t want you to know is that in 2019, his anti-vax nonsense caused a measles outbreak in Samoa that infected 5700 and killed 83 people, most of them children.
November 22, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
dpcarrington.bsky.social
Full text of letter leaked to Guardian saying at least 29 nations won't agree a deal without a road map for a phase-out of fossil fuels

"true leadership is .. not lowering expectations to accommodate the most reluctant"

#cop30
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
Cop30 live: standoff over inclusion of fossil fuel phaseout in final text escalates
Following a dramatic fire yesterday, the climate summit is due to finish this evening, but disagreements over the final text look difficult to resolve
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
dieworkwear.bsky.social
The people who make Shein's clothes labor for ten to twelve hours per day (in violation of China's labor laws), some up to seven days a week, and earn as little as 15 to 30 cents per t-shirt.
Excerpt from a BBC article: ""We usually work, 10, 11 or 12 hours a day," says a 49-year-old woman from Jiangxi unwilling to give her name. "On Sundays we work around three hours less." She is in an alleyway, where a dozen people are huddled around a row of bulletin boards. They are reading the job ads on the board, while examining the stitching on a pair of chinos draped over it. This is Shein's supply chain. The factories are contracted to make clothes on order - some small, some big. If the chinos are a hit, orders will ramp up and so must production. Factories then hire temporary workers to meet the demand their permanent staff cannot fulfil. The migrant worker from Jiangxi is looking for a short-term contract - and the chinos are an option. "We earn so little. The cost of living is now so high," she says, adding that she hopes to make enough to send back to her two children who are living with their grandparents. "We get paid per piece," she explains. "It depends how difficult the item is. Something simple like a t-shirt is one-two yuan [less than a dollar] per piece and I can make around a dozen in an hour.""
November 20, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
scottsantens.com
Time to move past the neverending trial stage. Yes, basic income reduces homelessness.
streetroots.bsky.social Street Roots @streetroots.bsky.social · 7d
An Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees a staggering reduction in homelessness. The program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years, and at the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees staggering reduction in homelessness
The state program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years. At the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
www.streetroots.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
runningwhio.bsky.social
Stuff NZ has a headline that it's "not always predictable" that a man will murder his family AND an article about a murderer with decades of partner stalking & sex crime history that police weren't concerned by before he murdered, AND one about *yet another* cop covering up other cop sex crimes
November 21, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
silverdory.bsky.social
Nice pink form of Thelymitra ixioides (spotted sun orchid) near Mallacoota, East Gippsland, VIC. Have seen one or two pink forms at this location in past years but haven't seen them every spring. #Orchids #OzPlants #InTheField
Nice pink form of Thelymitra ixioides (spotted sun orchid) near Mallacoota, East Gippsland, VIC.
November 20, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
karenattiah.bsky.social
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
alastairjnz.bsky.social
Wordle 1,615 X/6

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November 19, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
theobrominated.bsky.social
Red tussock (Chionochloa rubra) is flowering in the garden now. One floret in this spikelet is open, presenting two fluffy stigmas, one on each side of the spikelet, and three dangling stamens. #bloomscrolling 🇳🇿🌱
A grass spikelet with green and white overlapping scales (glumes and lemmas, each with a long bristle at the tip. One floret is open and its three yellow anthers are dangling out on very thin filaments. Two feathery stigmas are also poking out.
November 19, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
maddow.bsky.social
“A foreign counterintelligence agent was pulled off a case involving China to walk around D.C., making D.W.I. arrests...”

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Kash Patel’s Acts of Service
The F.B.I. director isn’t just enforcing the President’s agenda at the Bureau—he’s seeking retribution for its past investigations of Donald Trump.
www.newyorker.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
newsroom.co.nz
Ministers are accused of trying to get their hands back on the wheel with amendments to the Fast-track Approvals Act
Fast-track changes may speed up ministers’ pet projects, critic warns
newsroom.co.nz
November 17, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
wired.com
The only craft docked at Tiangong space station has been damaged and “does not meet the release conditions for a safe manned return.”
A Collision with Space Debris Leaves 3 Chinese Astronauts Stranded in Orbit
The only craft docked at Tiangong space station has been damaged and “does not meet the release conditions for a safe manned return.”
wrd.cm
November 17, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
bernardchickey.bsky.social
Bloody Hell. Carbon price crashes under NZ$40/tonne.
christinahood.bsky.social Christina Hood @christinahood.bsky.social · 11d
The finding-out part
Graph of NZ ETS price, showing it tanking from around $55/t to below $40/t in the last week.
November 17, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
washingtonpost.com
As dozens of frog species have declined across Central America, scientists have witnessed a remarkable chain of events: With fewer tadpoles to eat mosquito larvae, rates of mosquito-borne malaria in the region have climbed, resulting in a fivefold increase in cases. https://wapo.st/4paBuuT
November 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
alastairjnz.bsky.social
Why continue to pretend that Tr*mp ever had any intention of actually fixing inflation?
apnews.com The Associated Press @apnews.com · 12d
As President Donald Trump keeps saying an economic boom is around the corner, there are signs that he has already exhausted voters’ patience as his campaign promises to fix inflation instantly have gone unfulfilled.
Trump, like Biden before him, finds there's no quick fix on inflation
President Donald Trump’s problems with fixing the high cost of living might be giving voters a feeling of déjà vu.
bit.ly
November 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by AlastairJNZ
lemuellyes.bsky.social
I’ll be sharing more images as I work through them – so if scenes of life in Edwardian Britain interest you, then keep an eye out!

Also, feel free to follow my Facebook page for more information about this series - www.facebook.com/historygeeknz

Church in the Wood, Hollington, Hastings.
This Edwardian glass slide shows St Leonard's Church, also known as Church in the Wood, in Hollington, Hastings. The church dates to the 13th century, built on the site of an earlier chapel. As a church crawler, I'm especially drawn to the shape of the tower - very different to the ones I'm used to in the West Country. I'd love to visit one day! 📸 Church in the Wood, Hollington, Hastings. Likely Edwardian era. The Schoolmasters Slides – associated with Chas F. Hayward. Lemuel Lyes Collection.
November 11, 2025 at 9:10 PM