Two major new federal opinion polls:
• The Australian brings us the first Newspoll result in four weeks, which has Labor with a two-party lead of 56-44, in from 57-43 last time. The primary votes are Labor 36% (steady), Coalition 30% (up one), Greens 12% (steady) and One Nation 9% (up one). Anthony Albanese is up two on approval to 49% and down one on disapproval to 46%, while Sussan Ley is steady at 35% approval and up two on disapproval to 44%. Albanese leads 51-31 on preferred prime minister, shifting from 52-32 last time. The poll was conducted Monday to Thursday from a sample of 1283.
• The monthly Resolve Strategic poll from Nine Newspapers has Labor’s lead at 59-41, out from 56-44 last time, though the primary votes are similar to Newspoll’s: Labor up two to 37%, the Coalition steady on 29%, the Greens steady on 12% and One Nation up one to 9%. Anthony Albanese has nonetheless slipped on his personal ratings, his combined very good and good score down two to 43% with poor and very poor up three to 45%. Sussan Ley is unchanged at 38% and 29% respectively, while Albanese’s lead on preferred prime minister shifts from 40-25 to 41-26. The poll also has “likeability” ratings for various political figures – Albanese has a net result of plus three and Ley plus ten, but beyond that I would want to see what the uncommitted results are, name recognition being an important feature of such findings. The sample was 1800: field work dates are not provided, but last time it was over a seven-day period from Saturday to Friday.
“Entropy, I never knew that! So, the idea isn’t that God couldn’t have turned water into wine, but that he wouldn’t have. I guess John 2 doesn’t get read often in Uniting churches with lots of former Methodists?”
They believe he turned into something but it wasn’t alcoholic. Which in my book rules it out as being wine.
GFY2 says:
Monday, August 25, 2025 at 9:09 pm
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/government-poised-to-betray-creators-in-ai-copyright-grab,20088
Sigh, no wonder there was a trial balloon on productivity, still can’t seem to figure out how to get beyond blowing up humanity, clearing land, climate disruption resources?
Diversify the economy.
Banana republic.
Arrest the resources curse?
Unreal diversity trash of Asia.
Move up the value network.
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Thanks for sharing, I’ll add Independent Australia to the Australia Institute categorization of dodge and selective reporting for sensationalizing claims.
Here is the actual PC report, not “just released”, released almost a month ago:
https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/data-digital/interim/data-digital-interim.pdf
Here is what the PC actually says about consideration of law changes:
“There are concerns that the Australian copyright regime is not keeping pace with the rise of AI technology – whether because it does not adequately facilitate the use of copyrighted works or because AI developers can too easily sidestep existing licensing and enforcement mechanisms. There are several policy options, including:”
“• no policy change – that is, copyright owners would continue to enforce their rights under the existing copyright framework, including through the court system”
“• policy measures to better facilitate the licensing of copyrighted materials, such as through collecting societies”
“• amending the Copyright Act to include a fair dealing exception that would cover text and data mining.”
“The PC is seeking feedback on what reforms are needed to bring the copyright regime up to date.”
“Another option is to expand the existing ‘fair dealing’ regime, which provides certain exceptions to the requirement to obtain permission from the copyright holder (box 1.6). Currently, there is no exception that covers AI model training per se (The University of Notre Dame Australia 2024). However, depending on the case, a different exception could apply. For example, AI models built as part of research could fall within the scope of the ‘research or study’ exception.”
“It should also be noted that a TDM exception would not be a ‘blank cheque’ for all copyrighted materials to be used as inputs into all AI models. As discussed in box 1.4, the use must also be considered ‘fair’ in the circumstances – this requirement would act as a check on copyrighted works being used unfairly, preserving the integrity of the copyright holder’s legal and commercial interests in the work. There may be a need for legislative criteria or regulatory guidance about what types of uses are likely to be considered fair.”
***
So, if an independent agency cannot highlight issues with the current regulatory regime, scope a spectrum of options, and discuss what they mean, what we are really saying is that we are not actually interested in considered policy making.
Entropy,
Actually the main reason why the early Methodist Church, chose to use grape juice, rather than wine, given it’s historical links with the Church of England, was pastoral rather than theological It is the same reason why the Uniting Church uses grape juice today, and that is so that those who are alcoholics can partake of communion (in the same way that in my church we use gluten free bread). Certainly, there are many former Methodists who are tea-totalers, however, abstinence from alcohol is not a tenet of the Uniting Church.
Ronzysays:
Monday, August 25, 2025 at 11:07 pm
Entropy,
With respect to being “big believers in end of days theology”, from my experience, unlike the Seventh Day Adventist church, there is very little focus on end times theology amongst Uniting Church theologians. Indeed, it is almost as if they avoid preaching from the book of Revelation if at all possible. I recently delivered a message as part of a church service, where I encouraged the members of the congregation not to focus on the ramifications of the possibility that we are entering into the “last days”, what is important is how we live our lives today, regardless of whether Jesus’s “second coming” was next week or in a thousand years time.
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I wonder on what authority you emphasize different parts of the holy text. It’s not too dissimilar from having your religion a la carte.
I think Entropy got the Uniting Church confused with Greenpeace.
Entropy, Monday, August 25, 2025 at 11:09 pm:
That’s a strange attitude to Scripture for Protestants! What would Martin Luther think? John 2, in the original Greek, reads:
https://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/2.htm
Ronzy, Monday, August 25, 2025 at 11:23 pm:
That makes more sense. I thought re-writing John 2 would not be done in a Protestant denomination like Methodism.
I’ve met a few members of the Uniting Church and they do seem to have lived up to one tenet of Christianity in that they resemble a flock of sheep, being to a person placid and defenseless. Probably more so than any other sect. In fact many look like a sheep with a secret sorrow.
AI companies are never gonna give a single fuck about copyright law, until it’s their product they’re selling. They aren’t going to care about Australian law.
Ronzysays:
Monday, August 25, 2025 at 11:23 pm
Entropy,
Actually the main reason why the early Methodist Church, chose to use grape juice, rather than wine, given it’s historical links with the Church of England, was pastoral rather than theological It is the same reason why the Uniting Church uses grape juice today, and that is so that those who are alcoholics can partake of communion (in the same way that in my church we use gluten free bread). Certainly, there are many former Methodists who are tea-totalers, however, abstinence from alcohol is not a tenet of the Uniting Church.
—————————————————————-
Except Presbyterians did use alcohol for communion. When they joined with Methodists the agreement was not to use alcohol in communion to cater for the Methodists beliefs. The reason has nothing to do with alcoholics though. As many alcoholic Scots participated in the alcoholic communion of the Presbyterian church (Church of Scotland) and still do.
The truly important question is if the little jesus crackers are made with yeast.
“That makes more sense. I thought re-writing John 2 would not be done in a Protestant denomination like Methodism.”
They don’t rewrite it. They believe the wine it refers to is different to our definition of wine. Basically they believe in those times there were non-alcoholic drinks that were also referred to by the Aramaic word for wine.
Ghost Of Whitlamsays:
Monday, August 25, 2025 at 11:53 pm
The truly important question is if the little jesus crackers are made with yeast.
==============================================
In most churches they are unleavened wafers not using yeast. Uniting Church tends to use bread which did contain yeast. The Gluten free option are generally rice wafers and no yeast.
Entropysays:
Monday, August 25, 2025 at 9:35 pm
…As she is not Roman Catholic…
– – – – – – – – – –
While I am sure no offense was intended, can I point out that “Catholic” is quite sufficient for your purposes here. “Roman Catholic” has a long history as a pejorative term used by the British Establishment, and their born-to-rule colonial offshoots, to label, stereotype and disenfranchise people (including my ancestors). It became so 300 years ago, when it formally replaced the more obviously bigoted “Papist” in discriminatory legislation, to question the loyalty of people following a non-establishment faith. A very “sticky” phrase compared to other familiar pejoratives; this was still in use as an attempted put-down when I lived in London in the 1990s (on the mistaken assumption that my Catholic and Irish ancestry gave me any bit of skin in the “Troubles” that were then coming to an end).
“Roman Catholic” does have legitimate meanings, to distinguish the mainstream from, say Ukrainian Catholics (such as Australian Cardinal Mykola Bychok), or to refer to services held in Latin (according to the “Roman Rite”), but these have been as rare as rocking horse shit in Australia since Vatican II, 60-odd years ago. However neither of these use-cases are relevant to your comment about the Shoppies.
I hasten to add, I give 9/10ths of no fucks at all – I find it a more quaint than anything – but just sayin’, for the wider cultural appreciation. Australia has largely left its Christian-sectarian animosities behind, but some of my older relo’s can recall when they were a real thing. In its way, it’s a passé version of conflating “Jewish” and “Israeli”. I think that issue has been mentioned once or twice here recently. 😉
Looks like a couple of ICE agents may have bitten the dust: wearing ski masks, bulletproof vests, no badges, but claiming to be law enforcement… they both got shot dead by the homeowner.
https://youtu.be/0QoeNtOgZY0?si=zteCxFZhlAvQWCLH
New thread.
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/08/the-us-can-end-the-gaza-genocide-now/ …
Player One says:
Monday, August 25, 2025 at 7:31 pm
newy boy @ #2280 Monday, August 25th, 2025 – 7:04 pm
C@tmomma, Monday, August 25, 2025 at 6:57 pm:
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Player One is coming across as quite bitter tonight. Having a crack at Pat Cummins for wanting to help local community sports groups with climate change impact amelioration?
Comprehension skills are yet to improve here on PB, I see.
Sad.
So why do you keep turning up here every day, Player One? For the spiteful, vindictive sport of the game you think you play with good people (unlike you) here, as a cat does with a mouse?
Or is it because (as we all suspect), your life in the real world would be even more empty without Poll Bludger?
Because, (as you’ll probably try to say), it’s not to school us about Climate Change, Stoogey Lurker walks all over you in that department.
No, you’re just some perennial biggest, bitterest loser with what seems to me as a gigantic (sustainably-grown wood) chip on their shoulder who gets sick kicks from putting people down anonymously online. Using intricate knowledge about Climate Change as your cudgel.
Sad.
And here’s one for BW, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44439974-how-the-old-world-ended, then … dynamism
#BoyzFromRome #Protestants #Confusianism
Entropysays:
Monday, August 25, 2025 at 11:09 pm
“Entropy, I never knew that! So, the idea isn’t that God couldn’t have turned water into wine, but that he wouldn’t have. I guess John 2 doesn’t get read often in Uniting churches with lots of former Methodists?”
They believe he turned into something but it wasn’t alcoholic. Which in my book rules it out as being wine.
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Koolaid?