Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 1d

You've got to take your wins when you can get them, which is why I'm taking advantage of my impending move into an apartment in the central city by booking cheap movies at Academy Cinemas.

Eight movies to look forward to in October and November and not an Event Cinema rip-off in sight!

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Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 2d

I've watched 15 games of Rangers this season under Russell Martin, a coach with a supposed footballing philosophy. Barca showed more in one half of football than Rangers showed in all of those games put together.

I am enjoying women's football more than men's right now, no question.

Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 2d

I've watched a fair bit of women's football over the last two years or so and watching Barca demolish Bayern in the Champions League this morning was an absolute masterclass in structure, style, tactics and game plan executed brilliantly.

It finished 7-1 and could have been more.

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Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 2d

Governments are always behind the ball when it comes to regulating technologies - but I don't know if it's ever been more important. The idea that a synthetic text extruding machine (thanks @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social) should be promoted as therapists is scary as hell.

AUT news @autnews.bsky.social · 2d

AUT senior lecturer and registered psychotherapist Dr Brigitte Viljoen says New Zealanders could be at risk from unregulated AI chatbots being promoted for therapy - and the Government needs to act.

"We need scientific proof... not hypothetical claims and hype.”

www.aut.ac.nz/news/stories...

AI chatbots no substitute for therapy - AUT News - AUT

An AUT senior lecturer says New Zealanders could be at risk from unregulated AI chatbots being promoted for therapy.

www.aut.ac.nz

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AUT news @autnews.bsky.social · 2d

AUT senior lecturer and registered psychotherapist Dr Brigitte Viljoen says New Zealanders could be at risk from unregulated AI chatbots being promoted for therapy - and the Government needs to act.

"We need scientific proof... not hypothetical claims and hype.”

www.aut.ac.nz/news/stories...

AI chatbots no substitute for therapy - AUT News - AUT

An AUT senior lecturer says New Zealanders could be at risk from unregulated AI chatbots being promoted for therapy.

www.aut.ac.nz

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•Anti-capitalist meme pebbler• @seizethememez.bsky.social · 2d

The image is a meme shared by a Twitter user named "SocialistFlamethrower" with the handle "@SocialistFT." The text above the image says, "Never in my life, have I seen a meme this concise."

In the illustration, there is a large boot labeled "capitalism" pressing down on the ground. Underneath the boot, a person labeled "liberals" is painting a scene on the underside of the boot. The painted scene depicts a sunny sky with clouds, suggesting an attempt to beautify or improve the oppressive nature of the boot.

Beside the person, there is a small table with two chairs, a teapot, and cups, adding to the imagery of a quaint, idyllic setting under the boot.

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Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 3d

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

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Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 2d

The (very easy) online cryptic crossword at the Herald today is my second best time ever. I would have beaten my 3:39 time if I had a mental block on saffron.

But this is the first time I remember that I've been ranked 1, albeit I don't expect to stay there. I'll take an early morning win.

Puzzle Solved
Time: 03:54
Your personal best is 03:54
Your rank: 1 of 34

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KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 5d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Christian Dametto @chrisdametto.bsky.social · 5d

The ratio of arrests in comparison with the Tommy Robinson protests is absolutely wild. People peacefully holding a sign vs people violently attacking the police and the public.

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 5d

Just when you thought Keir Starmer's Labour Party couldn't get more illiberal, or more like the Tories...
"Change", my left foot.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Police to get new powers to crack down on repeated protests, says Home Office

Move follows arrest of almost 500 people at latest pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday

www.theguardian.com

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Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 8d

It wasn't that long ago I was proud to work for Microsoft. We had dedicated news people all around the world choosing local stories to surface (no pun intended) to visitors to MSN and users of the Edge browser. Some of the very best people I've ever worked with were there. And now it's all bullshit.

Nathan Grayson @nathangrayson.bsky.social · 8d

with each passing month, microsoft gives us more reasons to minimize its presence in our lives, or divest from it entirely. the latest game pass price hike is another. it won't be the last

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Justin @sitkaworldsfair.bsky.social · 8d

Oh.

It’s Yom Kippur so why not have the official DHS account say “globalists,” a very common word to hear that almost never means Jews.

Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 8d

DHS appears to suggest that it will deny citizenship to "globalists"

Homeland Security
@DHSgov
"Communist?"
DENIED.
"Terrorist?"
DENIED.
"Globalist?"
DENIED.

Above a meme of a bearded smiling guy, in this case wearing a USCIS hat

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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 8d

Jane Goodall's work insisting, with evidence from her brilliant and tenacious fieldwork, that we were not so separate from animals, and they were much more like us than the Eurocentric theorists asserted, was so important.

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Neal Curtis @nihilcurtis.bsky.social · 8d

We need to resist AI not because the technology is a threat to humanity but because it's political economy is a threat to democratic society.

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 8d

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

A few days after this cartoon was published, my syndicate received a very indignant letter from someone representing the Jane Goodall Institute.
Not only did my syndicate and I both get read the Riot Act, there was a vague implication that litigation over this cartoon might be around the corner.
I was horrified. Not so much from a fear of being sued (I just couldn't see how this cartoon could be construed as anything but silly, but because of my deep respect for Jane Goodall and her well-known contributions to pri-matology. The last thing in the world I would have intentionally done was offend Dr. Goodall in any way.
Before I had a chance to write my apology, another complication arose.
The National Geographic Society contacted my syndicate and expressed a

desire to reprint the cartoon in a special centennial issue of their magazine. My editor, aware of what had just occurred, declined, explaining why.
Apparently, whoever it was that sent the inquiry from National Geographic was shocked. They told my editor that "that doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know." They did some checking themselves, and an interesting fact was eventually discovered: Jane Goodall loved the cartoon. Furthermore, she was totally unaware that any of this "stuff" was going on. Some phone calls were made, and the cartoon was not only reprinted in the centennial issue of National Geographic, but was also used by her Institute on a T-shirt for fund-raising purposes.
I've since had an opportunity to visit Dr. Goodall at her research facility in Gombe. It's a wonderful place (sort of like right out of National Geographic).
"To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable even by a self-described 'loony' as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid." —Excerpt from the above-mentioned letter that started the ruckus

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Alanna Smith @alannawrites.bsky.social · 9d

The language of non-consent around AI is really telling. "It's too late to be scared." "It's here whether we want it or not." "You'll have to learn to work with it." "You can't fight the inevitable."

All just variations of "you're not allowed to say no." Creepy technology made by creepy people.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 9d

‘It’s too late to be scared’: readers on the controversial rise of AI ‘actors’

The birth of AI ‘actor’ Tilly Norwood has caused a backlash in Hollywood and has sparked conversation from Guardian readers

www.theguardian.com

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Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 8d

I knew someone would post this and didn't have to scroll far! Apparently she loved the cartoon when shown it.

Grant Jacobs BioinfoTools/NotJustDNA 🔬🧬🖥️✍️📚 @notjustdna.bsky.social · 8d

I like thinking of her from this in Far Side

Up a tree, one chimp grooms another, saying,

“Well, well—another blonde hair. … Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?”

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Tom Morello @tommorelloofficial.bsky.social · 9d

On this day in 2008 I released my album, “The Fabled City”. One of my favorite memories from this album was performing the title track in the streets of Manhattan during the #OccupyWallStreet protest.
Video: @rollingstone.com

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D Jukic She/her @dejanajuk.bsky.social · 9d

Landlords/Property Investors: We want a business model that’s all rights & no responsibilities. All profit & no costs. No security of tenure for tenants, no upgrades in fire safety, earthquake safety, or disability access & no way for tenants to know.
National/ACT/NZF: We’ve got your back.
#nzpol

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Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 9d

And we gave this fascist piece of shit citizenship after just a couple of days because he flashed his wallet.

Eternal shame on Aotearoa for this.

WIRED @wired.com · 9d

Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Carl Schmitt, the German legal theorist tapped by the Nazi's to justify Germany's slip from democracy to dictatorship.

Those theories have been a roadmap for the billionaire
ever since.

The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession

Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They’ve been a road map for the billionaire ever since.

www.wired.com

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Paul Brislen @brislen.nz · 9d

Payment surcharge ban will raise prices

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/payment-s...

Payment surcharge ban will raise prices, reduce competition between big and small businesses, officials warned

We warned you. Hiding the problem doesn’t fix the problem.

'Something to hide': Retail NZ hits out as advice shows surcharge ban will raise prices

Ministry advice showed the ban will weaken competition and increase prices for consumers.

www.nzherald.co.nz

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Glonzo Journalism, But Scary 👻 @scriban.bsky.social · 9d

Perhaps they were distracted by their work on developing an all-AI slop feed & app.

It's very clear that Meta has no real intention of solving any of the problems their company is creating.

Craig Silverman @craigsilverman.bsky.social · 10d

I found +3,000 Meta ads for nudifiers & AI girlfriend apps that featured bare breasts, simulated sex acts etc.

Meta said in June that it had deployed new methods to block nudifier ads. Indicator will continue to report on its progress, or lack thereof:

Sexually explicit ads for nudifiers and AI girlfriend apps continue to plague Meta

Indicator found thousands of ads that featured bare breasts and simulated sex acts

indicator.media

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Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey.bsky.social · 9d

FYI I’ll be on TVNZ Breakfast from 7:05am to talk about the age of eligibility for NZ Super. I say don't extend it. It’s not fair on manual workers, Maori, Pasifika, the disabled & those in 30s/40s without the unearned wealth those in 60s/70s are now sitting on. Land tax/wealth tax better. #nzpol

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Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 10d

The Kubrick stare is a technique used to portray insane, evil or unstable characters

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Mike Kilpatrick @marvingardensnz.bsky.social · 10d

I've been chronically addicted to EA's football games since I had a Sega Megadrive. The great news is by being bought by Kushner and the murderous Saudi regime, I no longer feel the need to spend a single cent on their games any more.

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