Somewhere Bismarck is looking down in confusion as Germany projects power by sending 4,000 pensioners, 12 buffet stations and a TUI loyalty program through the Strait of Hormuz

Headline from the AFR "Time to end welfare for the wealthy, says big business"

You mean the superannuation tax breaks? No?
You mean the CGT discount? No?
You mean the fossil fuel subsidies? No?
You mean the free gas for multinationals? No?
You mean the failure of the PRRT? No?
You mean the tax dodging trusts? No?
You mean the lack of a wealth tax? No?

No you mean the NDIS FFS

Briony Neilson Briony Neilson Editorial and Manuscript Services – assisting writers and academic researchers through all stages of the writing and publishing process

I've been working as a freelance professional academic editor for over 15 years and have finally got around to creating a website. If you're an academic writer seeking experienced editorial help on a writing project (e.g. book, chapter, journal article), get in touch! And please spread the word ✏️📖

Labor to tap super funds for $53b defence build-up Richard Marles declared greater private sector involvement in defence would be a win-win for the government and investors, but economists remain critical.

It is an iron law of Australian politics that the last resort of a bankrupt policy is “get the money from people’s super” www.afr.com/policy/forei...

Barriers to Truth and Justice in Settler-Colonial Australia This collection brings together experts from Australia and beyond to examine the persistent settler-colonial patterns of denial, ignorance and antipathy.

Last year I went to a great symposium where we talked about the failure of the Voice referendum here in Australia. Some of us at the conference put together our thoughts in this volume, edited by Dan Tout, Emma-Jaye Gavin and Julia Hurst. Great to see it out! link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

It's a great pity that these regional links are seen as the exception in Australia, seen as an emergency, second best stop-gap option to the retrograde AUKUS Anglosphere nonsense.

AUKUS submarine budget blows out by one third The bill for building nuclear-powered submarines over the next decade could be as high as $96 billion, according to updated figures published by the Defence Department today.

The only thing worse than a Defence project blowing out by billions of dollars is a Defence project that will never deliver the intended capability blowing out by billions of dollars. #AUKUS #auspol

The Amazing 2026 South Australian Election: Final Lower House Results And Poll Performance Tasmanian and Australian psephology, opinion poll analysis, election analysis and political commentary by Dr Kevin Bonham.

kevinbonham.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-...

The Amazing 2026 South Australian Election: Final Lower House Results And Poll Performance

Estimated 2PP 57.89 (+3.3) to ALP, may be revised later
ALP vs ON est 58.19 #sapol #savotes

Ah yes the good old classic longue durée lighter – as used at every Annales School barbeque 🙃 🗃️

Did this bloke sing every ad in the 70s?

Needless contrarianism. No-one can like endnotes. 😉

CfA: International Visiting Fellowship Programme in the History of Knowledge (Lund)

We invite early career/postdoctoral scholars to join us at LUCK during a period of one week between 2 November and 6 November, 2026.

Read more here: newhistoryofknowledge.com/2026/04/13/c...

Crediting and citing Indigenous Knowledges within research Abstract. Knowledge exchanges between Indigenous and scientific communities occur regularly, with researchers frequently seeking and benefiting from Indige

PUBLICATION DAY

academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

‘Do-it-yourself biological control’: the unauthorised introduction of blackberry rust to Australia In 1983, an unknown person smuggled blackberry rust (Phragmidium violaceum) into Australia – one of the nation’s most significant biosecurity breaches of the last half-century. Yet unlike most othe...

My latest article: 'We don’t know who did it. We don’t know their gender, their ethnicity or their political beliefs... What we do know is that in the summer of 1983–84, a fungus called Phragmidium violaceum was introduced to Australia – deliberately, secretly and illegally.' Call it 'plant noir'!

Festival chief warned author's removal would 'decimate' Writers' Week An extraordinary series of emails sheds light on the reservations that preceded, and internal fallout that followed, the decision to scrap Randa Abdel-Fattah's Writers' Week appearance.

Further confirmation, if it was needed:
The Adelaide Festival board was aware that Writers Week would probably be wrecked if they cancelled Randah Abdel-Fattah, but they did it anyway.

A man sitting at a working desk, in 1540 setting, with a drinking cup, a few books, a writing desk with paper sheets, and lots of more details.

Working the morning shift as a scholar in 1540, a browser tab and a word document opened on two screens, other needed texts opened and handy, an overfull mail account nearby, and a hot beverage in reach to make for the best working condition. Bonus: wearing a thinking hat. #academicchatter

Sometimes the Melian Dialogue ends differently.

A US president threatens genocide. No word of condemnation from the Australian government. Because submarines.

But shall this crazed old man be tamely suffered to drag a whole ship’s company down to doom with him?

The 'enshitification' of the system has left Australia's unis at a crossroad A generation ago, studying in Australia opened doors. Today rising costs and falling satisfaction are making international students think twice, and locals feel sidelined.

“Overpaid university managers are fixated on KPIs, global rankings, reputation building among donors, cutting costs, shedding full-time staff, casualising teaching, downgrading research, advancing their own careers, and awarding themselves handsome bonuses.” www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04...

researchers discovered that a coin, when flipped, overwhelmingly yielded a useful “heads” or “tails” result and almost never landed on edge. this indicates that the coin has situational awareness, intelligently refining its outcomes to those with the greatest contextual value

Volume 43 Issue 4 | German History | Oxford Academic The official journal of the German History Society. Publishes original research on all periods of German history and all German-speaking areas. An essential resource for German historians and valuable...

It's publication day! We have a complete issue now in "German History". With @aselmeyer.bsky.social I edited a volume on "Colonial Transactions in the German Empire". The contributions offer new insights into the construction of railways and colonial societies.
academic.oup.com/gh/issue/43/4

Second review in a week! Thank you for the thoughtful and kind appraisal.

When German Socialists Mobilized Against Genocide in Namibia German imperialism was responsible for the first genocide of the 20th century in its Namibian colony. The country’s socialist movement spoke out vehemently against the atrocities, offering solidarity ...

"Few German socialists would ever meet a member of the Herero or Nama peoples, but they spoke out in defense of their human rights and their right to rebel."

Wikipedia now has higher standards than all universities

Matthew P. Fitzpatrick. A Pacific Power: Liberal Imperialism in German Samoa Samoa is at the center of the world—again. In the late nineteenth century, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States vied for control of these South Pa

Nice to have had 'A Pacific Power' positively reviewed in AHR by Holger Droessler, who knows a thing or two about the history of imperialism in the Pacific. academic.oup.com/ahr/article/...

Mate, that four corners episode could have gone for 6 hours and still not laid it all out how bad things are. Australian universities are cooked and VCs are holding the tongs.

If we don't do AUKUS we will get as many subs from the Yanks and UK as we would with AUKUS.

It's a great thing about conferences - my feed and my bookshelves come to life.