University management spent £80 million on new building that wasn't needed (presently for sale at £14 million) and now decide 600 staff should go to 'save' £50 million. This is the math currently shaping future of UK HE. Staff paying the price for mismanagement. Govt looking the other way

“Russia is providing Iran with military aide and we’re lifting sanctions on them” is a helluva grand strategy

The US/Israel have hit 77 medical facilities in Iran. In a little over 1 week. Medical facilities receive some of the highest protections under int'l law. But for US/Israel targeting them is just another way of launching total war against civilians x.com/AryJeay/stat...

I was in a 2 hour briefing today on the Iran War. All the briefings are closed, because Trump can't defend this war in public. I obviously can't disclose classified info, but you deserve to know how incoherent and incomplete these war plans are. 1/ Here's what I can share:

Western Civilisation: the ultimate parasocial relationship

🪙 Join our SPIN Panel Session to hear more about the research underpining two chapters in our forthcoming SPIN volume. Ana Flamind on 'Secrecy and the Politics of Transgression' and Jamie Johnson and Owen D Thomas on 'Sense-Making at the End of Liberalism' 11 Feb | 15:00 | Online 🔗

Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research. We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...

Greg Bovino is a more and better Pynchonian name than Steven Lockjaw

The complaint is difficult reading, but if you need a condensed timeline of events in Minneapolis... I think I missed this incident entirely: www.courtlistener.com/docket/72132...

“Better dead than red” but talking about myself

We need to start normalising the slur ‘toaster’ to talk about AI, like in Battlestar Galactica

Jesus Christ: nepo baby

honestly I think we specifically need to ban chatbots for this specific generation of extremely wealthy elderly academics

The definition of these grievance conservatives to me is, guys who can't do whatever deal they claim only they can do, and blame everyone other than themselves for this. That's Sarah Palin, that's shitty stand-ups, that's Bari Weiss, it is a through line through all of them. They bring nothing.

Newly Unsealed Batch Of Epstein Estate Photos Contains Rare Holographic Dershowitz

these are so clearly only controlled by humans it’s astounding how much everyone gives elon musk for lying to everyone all the time about everything

Today is my first day in my new job at the Uni of Manchester, and I have a new article to share! ‘Operation Hurricane’: Narrating Climate Change as Imperial Mess. This article is something a bit different, playing with format to explore why climate storytelling matters. doi.org/10.1002/geo2...

It really is precisely the inverse of how much work you actually are doing

If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features." There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.

Come to my book talk this Wed (Nov 19) at 3pm GMT! I'll be talking about my research on the political history of 'psychological war,' how we came to think about 'wars of ideas,' and how psywar has often justified rather than replaced traditional forms of military violence. Details in link!

No two countries with Hard Rock Cafes have ever gone to war

Did Hard Rock Cafe ever get around to saving the planet?

Next Wednesday, join us for a talk by @jeffwhyte.bsky.social on his latest book - The Birth of Psychological Warfare (OUP). Of interest to those researching and studying US military conflict and history, propaganda, intelligence operations and post-truth politics. Join us! See link for details.

Help fight the closure of geography at Leicester. Solidarity with all combatting this

lol

My desire to work is so fucking bridled

The Maine Democratic primary:

You're absolutely right — starting a land war in Asia wasn't just a bad call, it's 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. Thank you for calling me out on that — really. I'll be extra-strategic from now on. Would you like me to get cracking on those 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿?

One of the best throwaway jokes from One Battle After Another was at the convent they take them to the "Pancho Villa Suite"

Very cool that the Labour government is going to criminalise protest then hand the keys over to Reform

Wow. I‘m not sure which part of this is weirder: that they think Starmer’s rep might be worse than theirs, or that they might be right.

Vance's most monumental achievement to date has been being told off by two popes in one year.

Excited to introduce Vibes from Meta. Eat your slop, piggies!

THE MEME IS REAL

The QAA podcast did an excellent deep dive about the 'medbed' conspiracy theory a year ago.

The post has deleted, but it's wild to see Tump posting an AI slop scam video featuring fake AI footage of himself promising magical 'medbeds', and presumably making these scammers fabulously rich in the process.

ok so you can migrate to the UK but you have to become an indentured servant to a guy who looks like a canned ham

The second portion of this great convo is now available!

One of the few downsides of never buying anything is I can’t meaningfully participate in any boycotts

this actually reveals the gameplan with Grok a little bit anything that affects Conservatives is immediately dismissed as fake or a meme or edited, no matter what that event actually is

Bracing myself for whatever Trump is going to do this time to deflect from the latest Epstein release

Very pleased to appear in this stellar lineup!

Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:

There will be an all-out media & financial assault on Mamdani if he takes office. When Salvador Allende was president of Chile, Nixon said the US had to "make the economy scream." Something similar will happen to NY in a collaboration between Trump & Dems. bsky.app/profile/schw...

I don't think people understand how ferocious the opposition to Mamdani will be if he's mayor. Republican & Democratic power brokers will unite to crush him & punish NYers for voting for him. They cannot allow someone with his positions to be a success & inspiration.

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