NEW The letter the BBC could send back to Trump A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim By me. Enjoy. emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...

"When public services become PR: How charities and corporations blur the line between care and self-promotion" by @stephenlongaus.bsky.social thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...

Super piece by Jonathan Liew www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... I hope Yazley-Lennon attends and gets his deserved treatment... But the real villains are the spineless politicians who Jon Snow on football, yet again.

UK Universities cut 12,000 jobs, more on the way. 40% of Unis in financial crisis. Major exporter destroyed by successive govts Obstacles for foreign students. Low fees in England, lack of govt funding. £267bn student debt. Home student numbers down. How will the UK compete with other nations?

🚨 Last week, EA was sold for a massive $55bn (£41bn). The buyers? Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), a private equity firm and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. The world of gaming is fast becoming a wild west for polluter advertising and sponsorship. 🧵 1/6

check our Erin's event at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/when-the-g...

The ESRC Festival of Social Science returns from 18 Oct – 8 Nov 2025. This year’s theme, ‘Our Working Lives’, explores how technology has shaped work over the past century and what the future may hold: https://ow.ly/4Ho850X64zF #WeAreUU | Queen's University Belfast | UK Research and Innovation

Gambling Myths Spreading Like Wildfire, Study Finds gamblingharm.org/gambling-myt...

RECORDING: All-island public health conference addresses commercial factors that influence our health www.publichealth.ie/events/recor...

Thinking and Caring With Arts-Based Research: An Assemblage of Methods to Promote Public Health Ann Dadich, Chloe Watfern, Barbara Doran, and Katherine Boydell journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... @ijqmonline.bsky.social

It's simple, if you throw paint on a plane then you get proscribed and any 80 year olds defending you get arrested. If you ask people to burn down hotels, and they try, you get an interview in the Telegraph and positive coverage in the BBC. That's sensible, proportionate policing.

This is certainly one way of saying “pathetic turnout by the fascists, outnumbered nearly two to one by decent people, despite weeks of bloodthirsty media coverage”

The British cannot stand being told by the Irish they are wrong.

I've been thinking a lot about the Reform UK football kit launch and what it says about the place of football culture in UK politics. This piece in @uk.theconversation.com asks if Reform can become the party of the football supporter. Spoiler: I'm skeptical. theconversation.com/football-fan...

Here's a fact for you all. Prior to 2017 there was not a single documented case of any individual travelling by small boats across the English Channel to caim asylum in the UK. Not ONE. This current 'boats' crisis has been largely caused by Brexit. But for some reason NOBODY is saying that.

'm quoted in a Times Higher Education article today on the new system for gambling harms research funding. We need more people doing work in this area, even if it makes it more competitive for established researchers to secure funding. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/gamblin...

Do you have a high street full of gambling shops breeding poverty and addiction? I have a way to fight back (Dawn Butler) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Really good analysis of the "delete old emails to save water" nonsense that's been going around lately. There are FAR better ways to save water - which people should be doing! andymasley.substack.com/p/contra-the...

The Friends' School in Hobart boycotts STEM programs sponsored by weapons manufacturers. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

Killing journalists. My @smh cartoon.

The shortlist for this year's Lord Aberdare Prize has just been announced and features authors such as Conor Murray, Matt McDowell, Conor Heffernan, as well as Matthew Llewellyn & Toby Rider, best of luck guys...

Please old chap, delete those pics of your mum… my plagiarism machine is quite thirsty

Congratulations to the 4 funded HEA.ie funded North-South projects announced today. Special note to the @ulsteruni.bsky.social team successful on their Tier 3 grant.

The UK is about to ban access to Wikipedia, just remember this bill was originally pitched as a means to protect kids from accessing porn.

Countries only murder journalists because they want to hide what they're doing. Gaza has become the graveyard of journalists, human rights, international law, red lines, diplomacy, and the UN.

I admire Mo Salah's restraint. "Farewell". Really? Suleiman al-Obeid was killed by the IDF as he was queuing for food in Gaza. Say it, you cowards.

A sign of the times. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

The University of Warwick has paid a lot of money, I'm guessing, for their internet banner ads on the Guardian and elsewhere. But they can't spell "curiosity". This isn't a US-UK variant. They just, genuinely, have a massive spelling error in their banner ads.

We always knew what it was really about

This is an interesting angle - using gambling taxes to rid us of the 2 child cap - I simply cannot believe Labour is considering it, would be impressed if they did it. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Hey! Come work with us - closing date 18th of August www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD447/l... More than happy to field informal queries, just drop me a line

Head of School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Northumbria University - School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Newcastle upon Tyne Salary: Competitive Closes 14/09 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOE516/h...

“The ‘Drag Queen Storytime with BSL Interpretation’ event is one of our longest running events and returns every year based on the positive feedback from those who attend and engage with the event."

What an amazing finish. There is nothing better in cricket when fast bowlers turn up - #Siraj here (unbelievable stamina) and Joseph in Brisbane a while back #INDvENG

@physcstudy.bsky.social commercialization of wellness?

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social: the shocking relationship between Premier League clubs and illegal betting operators, some of them linked to cyber slavery, is set to continue in the 2025-26 season, right under the nose of the regulator. josimarfootball.com/2025/07/29/p...

Asking a favour of anyone who subscribes: I don't suppose anyone has access to this to let me know how Risdon Vale fares? www.themercury.com.au #politas

New. Uefa’s integrity partner Sportradar consistently claims that it doesn’t sell data to unlicensed gambling operators. But its annual report states that it generates significant revenue from unlicensed gambling. By @journoandy.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/07/22/b...

In July 2025, a U.S. News survey found that at least 21% of sports bettors admitted to “verbally abusing” an athlete, whether on the internet or while they were at a sports event. gamblingharm.org/sports-betti...

Just a few says ago, the Prime Minister was decrying the racial abuse of England players. Today, though, he's stirring fear and resentment towards migrants, as though this kind of officially sanctioned xenophobia doesn't contribute to the climate in which black Britains face increased racism.

A Labour government that gets worse and worse by the day - scapegoating and demonising a group of precarious workers

Fixed it for you

Opposing genocide is student politics. Real governance is about free arsenal tickets

New. Leicester were set to unveil their kit for the new season last week, but the announcement was postponed. Was it because their new sponsor KBET is a hitherto unknown – and illegal – online bookmaker? By @philippeauclair.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/07/21/r...

Racing’s response to tax ‘harmonisation’ bombshell risks disturbing endgame www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2...

When "reform" distracts you from the real issues. Of course, voting age this is a Labour policy as PR would crucify them (although they are doing a decent job of that themselves)

www.irishexaminer.com/business/com... 🤔 Ireland clearly no longer the ‘wild west’

Editorial in the Belfast Telegraph on the need for gambling reform in NI. m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/edit...

Cricket Ireland invites East Belfast GAA children to Stormont sports camp