Jarrod Watt

Jarrod Watt

@jaywatt.bsky.social

Australian journo in Hong Kong; podcast editor/producer; Aus news correspondent RTHK3; journalism lecturer HKBU; ex SCMP, ABC, PBSFM, RRR; reformed music journo and bartender - https://jarrodwatt.com/

1.2K followers831 following3.7K posts

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

To truly taste the community schadenfreude in Harry Harrison’s #cartoon with Hong Kong’s (feared) Food & Environmental Hygiene Department, read the pro level of chutzpah in: “14 Hong Kong civil servants sue colleague over HK$28.9 million Mark Six winnings” www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

Jarrod Watt reposted

Finbarr Bermingham
@fbermingham.bsky.social

New China position paper from BusinessEurope, Brussels' umbrella corporate lobby group, shows how much biz thinking has changed on how Europe should approach Beijing - "open to examining" a new overcapacity instrument, potentially involving quotas

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

An all-ages revolution: begun by students, supported by folks who "...voted against a model of government that had become synonymous with personalised politics, a strong concentration of power, political control over institutions, media & deep social polarisation" www.euronews.com/2026/10/26/p...

euronews.comPolitical earthquake in Serbia: The end of the Vucic EraThis is not simply a change of government. It is the collapse of a political order that has defined Serbia since 2012. #EuropeNews
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

The billionaire Czech president launches an assault on public broadcasting in a rushed Saturday night vote. The public responds. "A rally is also planned... on November 15, two days before the anniversary of the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution..." #Zappa www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...

aljazeera.comThousands protest in Prague against public media funding reformsDemonstrators allege Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his coalition's proposed reforms pose a threat to press freedom.
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

I'm too tired to run an analysis through AI... just curious to know how many times "tighten party control" has been used in 14 years of reporting on plenums and party leadership? How loose was the control to start with?

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

"Before Musk’s announcement, confusion lingered over who ordered the high-speed service restrictions, with Musk initially claiming in a social media post the U.S. government was responsible, while President Donald Trump had said he had no knowledge of it." www.cnbc.com/2026/10/24/u...

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

The Nerd Reich in plain sight: information warfare vs the democratic process. “Instagram’s algorithm aggressively promoted pro-Bolsonaro and right-leaning content” while “actively suppressing Lula’s official campaign account.” www.commondreams.org/news/meta-al...

commondreams.orgResearch Shows Meta Algorithm 'Actively Boosting' Bolsonaro Ahead of Brazil Election | Common Dreams"Meta is interfering in Brazil’s elections in plain sight—boosting Bolsonaro and suppressing Lula content."
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

We’re going to need to form an orderly queue to begin the shocked response to news that the legacy of Elvis has been exploited.

Tim O’Brien@timobrien.bsky.social

The owners of Elvis Presley’s music sued Anthropic, saying it trained its AI models on more than 200 of Presley’s songs without permission, accusing it of copyright infringement. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/25/a...

nytimes.comOwners of Elvis Presley’s Music Sue Anthropic for Copyright InfringementThe $41 million lawsuit contends that the A.I. company used Presley’s music to train its models without permission. Anthropic disagrees with the claims.

Jarrod Watt reposted

Fiona Katauskas
@fionakatauskas.bsky.social

GOOD NEWS

The Associated Press@apnews.com

The long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has conceded defeat in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government.

bit.lySerbia’s strongman leader Vucic concedes defeat to student-led movement in seismic political shiftThe long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has conceded defeat in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government.
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Hong Kong economic news now featuring updates on Faye Wong tributes by visiting Canadian musician. "The Weeknd – performed “Hong Kong” to tens of thousands of fans... sampled heavily from the Cantopop song titled “Seasonal Wind”... released in 1993 by Faye Wong." www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Brief report from Central Hong Kong last night: yes indeed the two week(end) festival of Halloween has taken off. Dress like a cockroach! Dress sexy! Sad no-one was doing any photojournalism this weekend & even more sad: journalists who report church complaints but know nothing of All Hallows' Day

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Moment of clarity? “AI was powering a “race to exploit”… “Because a fix is now public and AI tools are able to reverse engineer the bug with little effort, experts said they were bracing for a wave of intrusions as hackers ⁠jumped to get ahead of the updates.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

theguardian.comFlaw in PHP computer language leads to shutdown of websites around worldPrecautionary takedowns come as experts say vulnerability in PHP, which is used by 70% of sites, could be exploited
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

🎶”Politicians hide themselves away/ They only started the war / Why should they go out to fight? / They leave that all to the poor…”🎶 Tonight’s #cartoon from @rowecartoon.bsky.social as war pigs gather: looks to the classic 1805 Gillray, sounds like classic 1970 Ozzy.

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Murdoch's media mullahs spring into action after an attempted murder of an elected Australian member of Parliament. The MAGA-Fox media model exported downunder: read the offender's Twitter account, ignore his comments about Israel, Gaza and praise for the woman who he targeted. It's Albo's fault.

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Turns out it takes just one brutal attack on an elected member of Australia's parliament for the racist muppet Hanson to change her tune about what's "funny". Will the Murdoch/Steve Bannon media hatebait approach come under scrutiny? Will the Angry Men of AM radio change their tune?

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Flashback to Hong Kong, 2014... but this is Buenos Aires, 2026. This photo essay takes you from New Delhi to Paris, Athens, Albania, Nepal, Santiago and Rio De Janeiro - the young folks are demanding a better life and a better deal. And so they should. apnews.com/photo-galler...

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

“We were just beginning to say, ‘Thank God,’ and now they want to cut off our food and drink.” Having watched Israel ruthlessly murder Gaza's residents via bombs, missiles, drones and machine guns, the world says there is no money left to feed the survivors. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...

aljazeera.comFamine fears as aid cuts and shipment restrictions coincide in GazaDisplaced families in Gaza fear worsening food insecurity as planned aid cuts coincide with continued restrictions.
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Cory Doctorow gave us the ‘reverse centaur’ theory for how AI piles more work on the humans - now? Welcome to ‘digital jobsworth’ where AI agents argue over whose job it is… and the human spends all day resolving issues and wondering why is it all so hard www.scmp.com/tech/big-tec...

scmp.comIn Focus | The AI promise was automation. The reality? Managing digital workersAs businesses race to build AI workforces, supervising them is becoming the next big challenge.
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Turns out Brits can serve it both hot’n spicy & icy-sour: a “scheduled discovery hearing that is likely to touch on the deposition issue for 22 October…” after the BBC dared Trump to sit for a deposition, & he chickened out. What diversion does he have left? www.theguardian.com/media/2026/o...

theguardian.comBBC asks judge to force Trump to sit for deposition as part of his $10bn lawsuitBBC asks US federal judge to compel Trump’s lawyers to schedule deposition after his team canceled initial session

Jarrod Watt reposted

Michael Pascoe
@michaelpascoe01.bsky.social

Trump, the Chamberlain of our times, determined to cede 20% of Ukraine to Putin cf the Munich Agreement's 30% of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. But Australian defence and foreign policy still based on "Yes, Sir, Mr President". www.smh.com.au/world/europe...

smh.com.au‘Planned operation’: The test result that reveals a dangerous Trump betrayalAll the signs suggest Donald Trump or his administration made a technical decision that led to increased civilian casualties in Ukraine.
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Great stories of Hong Kong governance: “…the contractor failed to provide the required staffing on seven occasions between August 2024 & August 2025.” Result? “…two contracts worth a total of HK$75.9 million to Spotlight Enterprises for two years of services.” www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

scmp.comNew HK$122m lifeguard outsourcing contract sparks public spending concernsFirm awarded new contract to supply services at six pools despite failing to provide required staffing on seven occasions previously.
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

There's no #BannedBooksWeek in Hong Kong because there is no list of banned books. It's difficult to report on books banned or removed from libraries in Hong Kong, but maybe a constructive approach might be for a journalist or news organisation to compile a list of books that are Not Accessible.

Banned Books Week@bannedbooksweek.bsky.social

LET BOOKS BE ACCESSIBLE! Attempts to limit access for the intended audience are acts of censorship. Let's take a look at the harmful myths and misinformation censors use to justify their actions. And find ways to push back! #BannedBooksWeek #LetBooksBe

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

May I please add this gold medal riposte in my repost of the news Ikea stores will serve as emergency shelters> This will be welcomed in Hong Kong where their stores are already used as shelter from the vicious reality outside... Cheers Allan Kelly - you put a smile on my dial.

Olga Nesterova@onestpress.onestnetwork.com

Reuters: Denmark’s IKEA stores are preparing to serve as emergency shelters and temporary hospitals during crises, with plans to use display beds for accommodation, restaurants for food and generators for backup power.

Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize winner is a judge who helped make rape in war a prosecutable crime, and was told of her win while at work in a Nuremberg court room. The convicted rapist President Trump… pledges more war on Iran, continues attacks on international court. substack.com/@ifloz/note/...

substack.com"If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump." NAVI PILLAY WINS THE INTERNET AND NOBEL PRIZESHE WAS MINDING HER OWN BUSINESS IN NUREMBERG WHILE HE BEGGED IN THE OVAL OFFICE. OSLO PICKED THE JUDGE.
Jarrod Watt
@jaywatt.bsky.social

Can’t be too long for a) Running Man b) Thunderdome or is it just going to be a slow grind to c) Idiocracy (but with live televised executions).

This post is unavailable.