Ben Lever
@benleverau.bsky.social
Transport and climate activist from Victoria, Australia https://linktr.ee/benleverau
Hepburn Shire councillors to be reinstated after private prosecution charges dropped
Councillors to be reinstated after private prosecution charges dropped
Charges laid by a private resident against five central Victorian councillors and a CEO have been dropped after the Director of Public Prosecutions intervened in court.
abc.net.au
Blue Mountains City Council wants to reopen this disused railway tunnel as a cycling and walking link. Cool idea! They've spent $4 million on cleaning and lighting, but "need" another $15 million because... ... wait for it... "further funding is needed to build car parking" 🤦
Calls to permanently open historic tunnel in Sydney's Blue Mountains
The 134-year-old Lapstone Hill Tunnel was used to store munitions in World War II and later became a mushroom farm. Now there are calls to make it a link between two towns in the Lower Blue Mountains.
abc.net.au
You may have seen the news about KMart's smart glasses selling out. Smart glasses are being marketed as a lifestyle accessory but they're actually covert recording devices that anyone can buy off the shelf; we should be treating them that way.
This sucks ass. When I start my car I want to be able to put my foot on the pedal and drive off. I dont want to watch an ad. A distracting ad. Right in the middle of my console. Again. This sucks ass.
some quotes from @snurb.info and me in this solid article as to why we're once again talking about 15-minute cities as a #conspiracytheory
ABC News Australia@news.abc.net.au · 24h agoOne Nation's new Victorian leader promoted '15-minute city' conspiracy theory
Pauline Hanson has knocked another brick out of our creaky political system. It’s not good for anybody | Peter Greste
Pauline Hanson has knocked another brick out of our creaky political system. It’s not good for anybody | Peter Greste
By deciding who gets to ask questions and who is barred, the One Nation leader is upending the democratic role that journalists are supposed to occupy * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Democracy’s lifeblood is information. But like any bloodstream, the more gunk that flows through it, the less healthy the system. For public debate to work, we all need reliable information grounded in facts and ethics, and the way we’ve done that for almost two centuries is through good journalism. The system isn’t always perfect – and sometimes it can look downright unedifying – but it has generally helped deliver one of the world’s most stable and successful political systems. We mess with it at our peril. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Five days ago, the Rhine - at the point where it enters the Netherlands - reached its lowest level ever recorded: 6.47 meter above sea level. Now it's at 6.35 m.
It's disappointing that there's no longer a Minister for Active Transport in the new Labor ministry. When fuel costs are high and transport emissions keep rising, helping people make more trips by walking & cycling is a priority for the Greens - it's a shame it's not for Labor.
You're right to be frustrated. But the enemy is not your neighbour who speaks a different language. The enemy is the system that profits when we hate each other. It's time we fight back, together. @victoriangreens.bsky.social 💚
Pauline Hanson wants you to blame your neighbours, instead of blaming the billionaires and CEOs making your life worse. Supermarkets keep ripping us off. Landlords keep raising the rent. The rich get richer. Everyone else struggles. Because if we are fighting each other, we aren't fighting them.
The 1% have one goal: Get us fighting over scraps.
You know who else has criticism about Greenblatt? His predecessor, who actually gave a shit about the issue. Only surprised the folks who want to ban criticism of Israel here haven't tried to import him before. www.timesofisrael.com/former-adl-c...
Former ADL chief Abe Foxman blasts group for muted response to Trump’s MSG rally
American Jewish groups afraid to anger ex-president should he win again, Foxman charges, after 'bizarre' statement by ADL about campaign event that avoids naming Trump himself
timesofisrael.com
Mmm yes. This dude. Extremely specific view of antisemitism, entirely about criticism of the current govt of Israel. Musk doing Nazi salutes and race science and the rest, he's just an exuberant lil guy, aw shucks. He brings absolutely nothing worth listening to.
ABC News Australia@news.abc.net.au · 2d agoTop US Jewish leader issues stark warning to Australia on antisemitism
Journal of the National Cancer Institute tracked 450,000 Scottish women born between 1988 and 1996, comparing those vaccinated under Scotland's 2008 national HPV immunization program against unvaccinated cohorts. Among women vaccinated at ages 12 and 13, no cervical cancer was detected.
Victoria Police investigating alleged assault at Camp Sovereignty
Police hunt for offenders after alleged assault on Camp Sovereignty
Victoria Police are investigating an allegation of assault at Camp Sovereignty with a 37-year-old victim treated for facial injuries.
abc.net.au
The political right in Australia used the same talking points after the Black Summer Bushfires, with two additions: the fires were the work of arsonists and/or the Greens for curbing forestry activities, and "Australia is a land of extremes, it has always burned. What of it?"
Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they)@doctorvive.bsky.social · 2d agoThis (from the @wsj.com Editorial Board) distills every denialist trope there is: It implies climate change isn’t exacerbating extreme weather. It calls solutions “costly … nostrums.” It fosters doomerism. And it suggests we can just adapt to or “manage” climate impacts. How is this journalism?
Let's be very clear. What Amnesty have done here isn't just bad for the trans community. This is bad for every single persecuted minority in the world because they have shown that money and threats will remove opposition to persecution. Think about it.
As One Nation starts announcing candidates, here's a bingo card over the possibilities
As the active transport advocates in this article point out, this is so stupid, and directly counter to a bunch of the City of Melbourne's own transport plans. --- Dubai luxury comes to Collins Street: High-end valet parking service launches theage.com.au/national/vic…
Dubai luxury comes to Collins Street: High-end valet parking service launches
Traders say the scheme will make it easier for shoppers to visit Melbourne’s most prestigious street, but others are worried it will clog the city even further.
theage.com.au
I don't think people are ready for this kind of joke yet.
Oh yeah you know I am edgy and hardcore because there are characters in my name that are NOT ALLOWED on the Australian census Ain't nuthin' but an é thang
Damn... 300% higher yields for peppers 200% for tomatoes. 65% lower water use for jalapenos. #agsky #agrivoltaics ,🌱🌞🔌..
hoergen@hoergen.bsky.social · 3d ago*American farmers slid solar panels over 62,000 acres of farmland, and the biggest payoff had almost nothing to do with electricity* #Erneuerbare #Renewable #Solar #Photovoltaik energiesmedia.com/solar-panels…
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, PM of Australia 1923–29, so disliked his first name that his close friends called him “S.M.”, he officially requested that the press to refer to him by his initials, and his wife simply called him “Ess”
ex-Lethality Jane@lethalityjane.bsky.social · 5d agoMy favorite Ulysses Grant fact is that he was born Hiram Ulysses Grant but hated that his initials spelled "HUG" so he applied to West Point as "Ulysses Hiram Grant" but his sponsor accidentally put "Ulysses S. Grant" and then the Army said "your paperwork says Ulysses S. Grant so that's your name".
The NSW police power to require the subject of a warrant to open their digital device for a scan is to be extended to routine arrests and stops Police then download device content which includes all past deleted encrypted messages 👇 www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/nsw-pol...
NSW Police to Be Given Powers to Access and Download Phone Content on the Beat
The NSW government is introducing laws that would give police officers broad power to compel individuals to provide access to their digital devices for scanning and downloading.
sydneycriminallawyers.com.au
Data centres classified as “utility installations” and can apply for permits on green wedge land
Asher Wolf@asherwolf.bsky.social · 4d ago
More frequent services can't come soon enough
So I woke up this morning to find out that Ozzy Osbourne’s son made a video falsely accusing me of using AI to write a Rolling Stone article about the Tate brothers.
