Don’t Let it Bring You Down, It’s Only Castles Burning Neil Young The castles of the Australian wine industry are visibly alight. After decades of kicking the proverbial can down the road, the inevitable reckoning has become manifest. In a period of just a few days, the heads of AGW and AWRI have…

Because they are targeting what is driving inflation and what they do not control - a lack of serious competition policy (2 or 3 companies control / dominate most retail sectors and price accordingly), influence over global trade and wars, etc. Instead they punish the public.

The RBA hoped this year’s three interest rate rises would tame inflation – but nothing is going their way

The breakdown of the US-Iran ceasefire, rising oil prices and the explosion in datacentre investment are making the central bank’s task harder

theguardian.com

For a million per year, they need to be publicly accountable.

Tom Studans@maximumwelfare.bsky.social · last wk.

I’m here to tell you right now: we don’t care. You people are fucking infants.

AI, part 1

POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · 7d ago

🚨 BREAKING: An AI researcher who worked at Anthropic — and previously OpenAI — has resigned, saying both tech giants are "gambling with our lives." Full story: politico.eu/article/anth...

Well worth the time to read if you are interested in how wine styles needs to evolve.

Wine Chronicles: When Wine Gets Too Perfect

By Dan Berger

napavalleyfocus.substack.com

Murdoch’s superpower is knowing when to cut bait.

Hoodlum 🇺🇸@nothoodlum.bsky.social · last mo.

"Mr. Trump, you are the first president in American history to start and lose a war by yourself. You have made America more weak, more alone and less respected. Congress needs to take back the steering wheel from this impaired driver."

Senator Cassidy seemed ashamed of his vote for Blanche, who empowers pedophiles every day. In my 24 years in Senate, I never saw a Senator speak about a nominee & cry. Were they tears of shame? Or tears of personal fear? Were the tears for Epstein survivors? Whatever they were, they were useless.

Everyone should have a hype man like this in their life 🙌🏼 Might change my name to Franklin and play this on loop 😂

At what point will we stop thinking of these events as not inter-related or correlated?

First Australian mass mortality event suspected as deadly bird flu virus rapidly escalates among native birds

Helicopter surveillance finds dead and dying greater crested terns off South Australian coast as H5 virus spreads

theguardian.com

I've been thinking through the challenges faced by the wine industry, particularly in Australia, and propose some pathways for a different and brighter future. I hope reading it sparks conversation and more ideas being shared for our collective benefit.

Renewing the Australian Wine Industry from the Ground Up

28 July 2026 Australian wine faces a series of challenges in realizing its potential as a “great” wine producing nation. Despite many examples of fine, even great, wine being produced here, they are a vanishingly small percentage of overall wine production with relatively minute amounts being exported to be appreciated for their inherent worth globally. Absent more high-quality brands that express individuality and greater quantities of these wines being exported, the “Australia” wine brand will continue to languish globally due to a perception of Australian wine as a low-value or insufficiently differentiated artefact of industrial farming and winemaking.

thewinerules.wordpress.com

Trump makes another unqualified DEI hire.

Senate confirms Trump ally Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence

At confirmation hearing, Clayton sidestepped questions about 2020 election and declined to say Trump lost

theguardian.com

This is the end game. Break trust in public institutions devoted to the common good.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2mo ago

RFK Jr: "Americans no longer public health, and they shouldn't"

It’s almost like the planet is angry what us. I would be.

Christopher Webb@cwebbonline.com · 2mo ago

Reality doesn’t care about political talking points. This isn’t because Spain and France forgot to rake the forest. This is climate change, plain and simple, and it’s only going to get worse. 🚨 Nearly 200,000 people are running for their lives from out-of-control wildfires.

Band name this picture. I’ll go first. The Not Happy Jans.

Albanese's 'disciplined' Labor risks making a very big mistake

The Australian Labor Party, under Anthony Albanese, has been a model in what political watchers like to call "discipline".

thenewdaily.com.au

It seems like this should be much bigger news. This is what all the distractions are for - to keep us ftom seeing this.

‘Complete shock and dismay’: scientists unite against Trump’s $1tn grant attack

OMB proposal would upend entire grant-making system – and put vast sums into hands of political appointees

theguardian.com

Mbappe’s 10 goals is all the motivation Messi needs for a giant game tomorrow.

Fixed it - Pauline Hanson Talks up White Australia Policy and Laments Daughter's Leadership Potential.

Pauline Hanson laments end of White Australia policy and talks up daughter’s leadership potential

Appearing on a podcast with the far-right UK activist who goes by the name Tommy Robinson, Hanson makes evidence-free claims about migrants

theguardian.com

Of my many fond memories of his performances, I love this as a final memory.

Dr Craig Buchanan FSAScot@buchanan.today · 2mo ago

God bless the late Sam Neill 😢

Leopards. Faces. Etc. Time to wake up from your slumber NYT.

Scott MacFarlane@macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Important statement from the New York Times

Boom

Pwnallthethings@pwnallthethings.bsky.social · 2mo ago

That Lupita Nyong’o’s looks have made some of the most powerful men go completely insane and fight over her inclusion in this movie only goes to prove that Nolan casting her was absolutely correct bsky.app/profile/dail...

Spoke to my friend Mitch McConnell for 20 minutes today

Don’t be sad. 35% of Americans believe we won the World Cup

Absolutely everything Trump touches dies. Now soccer.

He’s right of course. And if they selectively don’t do it, that is selective enforcement of thee law. These guys really don’t get what the rule of law means.

Florida Republican says deporting Haitians with TPS would be ‘huge mistake’

‘Haiti is a failed state’, says Carlos Giménez, congressman and Miami Cuban exile, after controversial court ruling

theguardian.com

When the Red Sox got fogged out in Cleveland, the sportswriter asked scheduled starter Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd what he thought of this. Boyd said, "what do you expect when you put a stadium beside the ocean?"

John Cusack@johncusack.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Fog bowl in Chicago

Cabo Verde, population 620,000 is in the World Cup. Washington DC, population 700,000, isn’t even in the Senate.

Outlier opinion - Pretty sure that MAGA would have forgotten Obama was black if he made a billion dollars a year as President.

To be fair, 10% of all college students are in metro Boston….

Jane Natoli 🥑🚲🍍@wafoli.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It’s weird how of people spend a few years in awesome college towns and then we are like “under no circumstances can we recreate that anywhere else”

It’s weird how of people spend a few years in awesome college towns and then we are like “under no circumstances can we recreate that anywhere else”

Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com · 3mo ago

Top 10 US cities by share of workers commuting by walking: —Cambridge MA —Brookline MA —New Brunswick NJ —Iowa City IA —Columbia SC —New Haven CT —Berkeley CA —Jacksonville NC —Boston MA —Ann Arbor MI On Transport Databook: www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/us-...