PlsUseYourBrain
@useyourbrain.bsky.social
humanism, secularism, realism, anti-theism, anti-superstition, anti-irrationalism, anti-supernaturalism, anti-fucking-stupidism.
Pinned
2025 was fucking grim.
2026 may well be too.
And it's all too easy to get caught up in the doomscrolling/posting, even here on Bluesky.
So, I'm planning to somewhat counter this by noticing and posting at least one postive moment from my day, every day this year.
Join me in celebrating #SmallJoys
2026 may well be too.
And it's all too easy to get caught up in the doomscrolling/posting, even here on Bluesky.
So, I'm planning to somewhat counter this by noticing and posting at least one postive moment from my day, every day this year.
Join me in celebrating #SmallJoys
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Gift article #auspol
Defence experts say while Australia keeps meeting downpayments on the promised Virginia-class nuclear submarines, it is getting nothing in return for a deal that shows signs of failure on several fronts.
By Karen Barlow.
Defence experts say while Australia keeps meeting downpayments on the promised Virginia-class nuclear submarines, it is getting nothing in return for a deal that shows signs of failure on several fronts.
By Karen Barlow.
‘Rich dummy’: How the AUKUS deal is set to fail
Defence experts say while Australia keeps meeting downpayments on the promised Virginia-class nuclear submarines, it is getting nothing in return for a deal that shows signs of failure on several fron...
www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au
January 17, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Gift article #auspol
Defence experts say while Australia keeps meeting downpayments on the promised Virginia-class nuclear submarines, it is getting nothing in return for a deal that shows signs of failure on several fronts.
By Karen Barlow.
Defence experts say while Australia keeps meeting downpayments on the promised Virginia-class nuclear submarines, it is getting nothing in return for a deal that shows signs of failure on several fronts.
By Karen Barlow.
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
The Greens are ready to work with the government to pass gun laws next week.
The rest of the omnibus bill however needs too much reworking to meet community concerns.
We need to keep all people in the community safe from discrimination and hatred, but good laws don’t come from rushed work.
The rest of the omnibus bill however needs too much reworking to meet community concerns.
We need to keep all people in the community safe from discrimination and hatred, but good laws don’t come from rushed work.
January 16, 2026 at 11:31 PM
The Greens are ready to work with the government to pass gun laws next week.
The rest of the omnibus bill however needs too much reworking to meet community concerns.
We need to keep all people in the community safe from discrimination and hatred, but good laws don’t come from rushed work.
The rest of the omnibus bill however needs too much reworking to meet community concerns.
We need to keep all people in the community safe from discrimination and hatred, but good laws don’t come from rushed work.
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
“a ferocious, fast-moving grass fire flattened 17 homes & tore through 8,000 hectares..Fire crews could not match the speed..this fire offers a glimpse into a new & faster kind of bushfire & the vulnerability of communities as climate change fuels dangerous conditions”
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
No time to warn or to prepare: Natimuk met the fire of our future
The anatomy of the Natimuk fire offers a glimpse into a new and faster kind of bushfire — and the growing vulnerability of communities as climate change fuels dangerous conditions.
www.abc.net.au
January 16, 2026 at 11:11 PM
“a ferocious, fast-moving grass fire flattened 17 homes & tore through 8,000 hectares..Fire crews could not match the speed..this fire offers a glimpse into a new & faster kind of bushfire & the vulnerability of communities as climate change fuels dangerous conditions”
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Albanese PROMISED No One Left Behind™ at both of the past two elections.
Since then, he has done Fuck All® to make this a reality, despite his power to do so.
#MostDisappointingPM
#AusPol
Since then, he has done Fuck All® to make this a reality, despite his power to do so.
#MostDisappointingPM
#AusPol
Australia has had a rise of 237,000 children living in poverty. Which brings the total up to 950,100 which means this year we are at risk of it surpassing 1 million bcec.edu.au/media/anothe...
Another 237,000 Australian children in poverty in four years - BCEC
Almost a quarter of a million children have been plunged into poverty in just four years - a 33 per cent increase.
bcec.edu.au
January 16, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Albanese PROMISED No One Left Behind™ at both of the past two elections.
Since then, he has done Fuck All® to make this a reality, despite his power to do so.
#MostDisappointingPM
#AusPol
Since then, he has done Fuck All® to make this a reality, despite his power to do so.
#MostDisappointingPM
#AusPol
The Albanese government is trying to ram through a new set of vilification laws,
...
Labor calls it the Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, but that title alone tells you what’s going on, one form of racism gets special priority, right there at the top.
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social
...
Labor calls it the Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, but that title alone tells you what’s going on, one form of racism gets special priority, right there at the top.
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social
The OmniBus Crash of the Hate Speech Laws | The West Report
YouTube video by The West Report
youtube.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:15 AM
The Albanese government is trying to ram through a new set of vilification laws,
...
Labor calls it the Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, but that title alone tells you what’s going on, one form of racism gets special priority, right there at the top.
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social
...
Labor calls it the Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, but that title alone tells you what’s going on, one form of racism gets special priority, right there at the top.
@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social
Yet another example of disappearing literacy in our media.
It is so EASY to construct a headline which cannot be misconstrued as police shooting a dead man.
What's going on?
It is so EASY to construct a headline which cannot be misconstrued as police shooting a dead man.
What's going on?
January 16, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Yet another example of disappearing literacy in our media.
It is so EASY to construct a headline which cannot be misconstrued as police shooting a dead man.
What's going on?
It is so EASY to construct a headline which cannot be misconstrued as police shooting a dead man.
What's going on?
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Split the damn bill then.
Albanese “I am surprised that anyone could walk into parliament & vote against…”
— a national gun buyback
— closing loophole allowing non-citizens to get gun licence
— strengthening customs to stop dangerous imports.
Yes it will say a LOT about anyone who can’t support this.
— a national gun buyback
— closing loophole allowing non-citizens to get gun licence
— strengthening customs to stop dangerous imports.
Yes it will say a LOT about anyone who can’t support this.
January 16, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Split the damn bill then.
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Albo's Omnibus Crash. Is it by design? Hate speech laws highly flawed, plus the wash-up of the Adelaide Festival debacle
#auspol
youtu.be/6RNFS5m1CdE?...
#auspol
youtu.be/6RNFS5m1CdE?...
The OmniBus Crash of the Hate Speech Laws | The West Report
YouTube video by The West Report
youtu.be
January 16, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Albo's Omnibus Crash. Is it by design? Hate speech laws highly flawed, plus the wash-up of the Adelaide Festival debacle
#auspol
youtu.be/6RNFS5m1CdE?...
#auspol
youtu.be/6RNFS5m1CdE?...
"I think it was Stephen King who first introduced me to the line, “Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it”,
...
the real horror isn’t the monster under the bed, it’s realising you summoned the hungry motherfucker yourself."
@birmo.bsky.social
...
the real horror isn’t the monster under the bed, it’s realising you summoned the hungry motherfucker yourself."
@birmo.bsky.social
I get the top bunk, Rupe.
I think it was Stephen King who first introduced me to the line, “Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it”, a tidy little omen he credited to some old Chinese philosopher.
aliensideboob.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:38 AM
"I think it was Stephen King who first introduced me to the line, “Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it”,
...
the real horror isn’t the monster under the bed, it’s realising you summoned the hungry motherfucker yourself."
@birmo.bsky.social
...
the real horror isn’t the monster under the bed, it’s realising you summoned the hungry motherfucker yourself."
@birmo.bsky.social
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Former Manus Island detainee Behrouz Boochani says Iranian asylum seekers are "suffering" in Aust after a UN committee this week found Aust breached its int legal obligations by allegedly exposing an asylum seeker from Iran to torture in immigration detention #auspol > www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Behrouz Boochani says Iranian refugees are 'suffering' in Australia
The United Nations committee has determined Australia breached its international legal obligations by allegedly exposing an asylum seeker from Iran to torture in immigration detention.
www.abc.net.au
January 16, 2026 at 4:09 AM
Former Manus Island detainee Behrouz Boochani says Iranian asylum seekers are "suffering" in Aust after a UN committee this week found Aust breached its int legal obligations by allegedly exposing an asylum seeker from Iran to torture in immigration detention #auspol > www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Would they be less displeased if there had been a ceremony?
Residents of a north-west NSW town are angry and heartbroken after a statue with more than 100 years of history was unceremoniously shattered in the middle of the night.
Outrage after 'attack' on 100-year-old Anzac statue caught on CCTV
Residents of a north-west NSW town are angry and heartbroken after a statue with more than 100 years of history was unceremoniously shattered in the middle of the night.
www.abc.net.au
January 15, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Would they be less displeased if there had been a ceremony?
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Bet there’s more to these social media numbers Labor are quoting today.
And for Albanese to say it was a grass roots campaign is a complete lie. #auspol
And for Albanese to say it was a grass roots campaign is a complete lie. #auspol
January 15, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Bet there’s more to these social media numbers Labor are quoting today.
And for Albanese to say it was a grass roots campaign is a complete lie. #auspol
And for Albanese to say it was a grass roots campaign is a complete lie. #auspol
Professor Elizabeth N Saunders from Columbia University joins @emmashortis.bsky.social to discuss the “chaotic cruelty” of the Trump administration, its escalation of hostilities over Greenland and whether it will strike Iran.
#FuckTrump
We need to decouple from this monstrous failed state NOW.
#FuckTrump
We need to decouple from this monstrous failed state NOW.
"Chaotic cruelty": Trump administration escalating violence at home and abroad
YouTube video by The Australia Institute
youtu.be
January 15, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Professor Elizabeth N Saunders from Columbia University joins @emmashortis.bsky.social to discuss the “chaotic cruelty” of the Trump administration, its escalation of hostilities over Greenland and whether it will strike Iran.
#FuckTrump
We need to decouple from this monstrous failed state NOW.
#FuckTrump
We need to decouple from this monstrous failed state NOW.
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
can't really hide how scary the Greenland thing is. Same roiling mix of anxiety I felt in the first few weeks of COVID19 lockdowns.
The scariest part is just that it isn't meant to make any sense. All of Europe is threatened
It is all going to get so much worse before it gets better again
The scariest part is just that it isn't meant to make any sense. All of Europe is threatened
It is all going to get so much worse before it gets better again
January 15, 2026 at 9:41 AM
can't really hide how scary the Greenland thing is. Same roiling mix of anxiety I felt in the first few weeks of COVID19 lockdowns.
The scariest part is just that it isn't meant to make any sense. All of Europe is threatened
It is all going to get so much worse before it gets better again
The scariest part is just that it isn't meant to make any sense. All of Europe is threatened
It is all going to get so much worse before it gets better again
"In creating his false equivalence – an absolutely delusional fantasy that criticising a political ideology like Zionism is akin to terrorism or hate speech – Malinauskas reveals just how little thought politicians like him have put in to forming their positions."
@amyremeikis.bsky.social
#AWW
@amyremeikis.bsky.social
#AWW
Malinauskas' Adelaide Festival mess reveals a political class disconnected from the people – Amy Remeikis
From Adelaide to Bondi, the political-media class are deciding the "correct" view – and targeting those who dare to dissent
www.deepcutnews.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:05 AM
"In creating his false equivalence – an absolutely delusional fantasy that criticising a political ideology like Zionism is akin to terrorism or hate speech – Malinauskas reveals just how little thought politicians like him have put in to forming their positions."
@amyremeikis.bsky.social
#AWW
@amyremeikis.bsky.social
#AWW
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Labor is rushing a 144-page omnibus mess through parliament with just 48 hours for public submissions. Communities are fearful this is designed to criminalize people calling out genocide in Gaza. You have my word that we won't let Labor silence dissent.
January 15, 2026 at 6:22 AM
Labor is rushing a 144-page omnibus mess through parliament with just 48 hours for public submissions. Communities are fearful this is designed to criminalize people calling out genocide in Gaza. You have my word that we won't let Labor silence dissent.
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
“There needs to be a lot more pressure on allowing international journalists to come in,” he said. “This is my seventh mission [to Gaza] and every time I see the 360-degree devastation, flattening of homes, my jaw drops.”’
news.un.org/en/story/202...
news.un.org/en/story/202...
Gaza: A ceasefire that still kills children is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
news.un.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:29 AM
“There needs to be a lot more pressure on allowing international journalists to come in,” he said. “This is my seventh mission [to Gaza] and every time I see the 360-degree devastation, flattening of homes, my jaw drops.”’
news.un.org/en/story/202...
news.un.org/en/story/202...
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
The major parties continue to show us that they are incapable of putting the public interest ahead of their donors, their factions and their self interest. #auspol
January 15, 2026 at 6:44 AM
The major parties continue to show us that they are incapable of putting the public interest ahead of their donors, their factions and their self interest. #auspol
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
At least 32 Palestinians, including 7 infants, have died from extreme weather in Gaza’s displacement camps. More than 1.5 million Palestinians remain without heating, winter supplies, or safe shelter as Israel continues to restrict aid.
#Infograph
#Infograph
January 15, 2026 at 7:32 AM
At least 32 Palestinians, including 7 infants, have died from extreme weather in Gaza’s displacement camps. More than 1.5 million Palestinians remain without heating, winter supplies, or safe shelter as Israel continues to restrict aid.
#Infograph
#Infograph
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Some media have reported that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has dropped her defamation claim against SA premier Peter Malinauskas. That is incorrect. She has resolved her separate defamation claim against Adelaide Festival Corporation.
January 15, 2026 at 5:54 AM
Some media have reported that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has dropped her defamation claim against SA premier Peter Malinauskas. That is incorrect. She has resolved her separate defamation claim against Adelaide Festival Corporation.
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Data today shows rents again at record highs in nearly every capital city in Aus - Sydney at $800 a week! Rental vacancy rates are at record lows & Labor’s policies are incentivising wealthy property investors, which push property prices up & result in skyrocketing rents.
January 15, 2026 at 5:15 AM
Data today shows rents again at record highs in nearly every capital city in Aus - Sydney at $800 a week! Rental vacancy rates are at record lows & Labor’s policies are incentivising wealthy property investors, which push property prices up & result in skyrocketing rents.
"The establishment of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is likely the most significant threat to forging truth in this nation, with the last hope to resist this onslaught of hasbara being a respected former High Court Justice"
@paulrgregoire.bsky.social
#AusPol
#FuckIsrael
@paulrgregoire.bsky.social
#AusPol
#FuckIsrael
The Hasbara Royal Commission and the Erasure of Palestinian Australians
Our PM has acceded to pressure to hold a Royal Commission, which together with the protest ban will ensure suppression of criticism of the genocide in Gaza.
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au
January 15, 2026 at 4:05 AM
"The establishment of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is likely the most significant threat to forging truth in this nation, with the last hope to resist this onslaught of hasbara being a respected former High Court Justice"
@paulrgregoire.bsky.social
#AusPol
#FuckIsrael
@paulrgregoire.bsky.social
#AusPol
#FuckIsrael
Reposted by PlsUseYourBrain
Best of 2025: Though Labor is likely to remain in government for at least one more term, it is still struggling to move beyond rhetoric and appears far from having a coherent strategy to counter the surge of the far-right. #auspol #Multiculturalism #Socialcohesion
Best of 2025 - Australia’s fragile multicultural consensus under threat
Anti-immigration rallies around Australia in late August and mid-October exposed public divides over migration, social cohesion and national identity.
johnmenadue.com
January 14, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Best of 2025: Though Labor is likely to remain in government for at least one more term, it is still struggling to move beyond rhetoric and appears far from having a coherent strategy to counter the surge of the far-right. #auspol #Multiculturalism #Socialcohesion