Good morning to everyone except those who refer to the Oxford comma as "unnecessary."

David Wallace-Wells is the best climate journalist working today, arguably the best journalist period, and this is a fantastic summary of where things stand on climate change:

Even demigods don't skip leg day 👀🍑 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums "Young Beardless Herakles", by Polykeleitos, a Roman copy of a 5th c BCE original, at Museo Nazionale Rome Thanks @antonio_explores for sharing 😁

America plunges headlong into Onion territory Oklahoma lawmakers introduce legislation requiring every public university in the state to construct “a Charlie Kirk Memorial Plaza”, with a statue and a sign calling him a “modern civil rights leader" Or get fined www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

this exists it is called thinking

The far-right majority in the Dutch parliament (BBB-FvD-JA21-PVV-SGP-VVD) has just designated “Antifa” a terrorist organization. This is a dark day for Dutch democracy and the final nail in the coffin of the VVD as a serious liberal democratic party.

the trick to centrism is defining who “we” refers to narrowly enough that bigots feel at home, while underlining “all” so liberals feel they’ve done their bit for inclusion by hosting them

Everything is so mobbed up. "Pearson Engineering is chaired by Labour peer Lord Hutton and owned by Israel’s finance ministry, which is run by a far-right politician who is under UK sanctions"

Done by Fred Brown, sand artist (not AI)

Lots of people saying they’ve got bumper crops of apples and such atm. If you’ve too many and don’t know what to do with them, ask your local Foodbank or cooperative pantry if they could use them! Dad got 2kg to the Fishguard Foodbank earlier.

May’s battle to see who will run the Welsh Government until 2030 will be determined by whether people cast their votes to participate in a culture war or on the basis of practical policies aimed at improving the nation’s prosperity ✍️Martin Shipton

A trans woman was left hospitalized after being viciously assaulted by multiple teenagers in a hate crime. Hate isn't born, it's taught and these kids are learning this from adults. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

10/ imagine being a world expert in whatever - , quantum physics, multi-regression statistical analysis, sociology of work and organisational studies, ancient history, political science.... and being treated as though we are stupid and don't understand the issues or the numbers.

9/ And we are gaslight - told that these are just 'culturally new' ideas. That it is just a 'culture change' that is needed. We need to get with the times and learn to be 'agile' and 'fail fast'. Real words.

8/ And do you know why? I'm told the bean counters in the chancellory with their consultants apparently had the brainwave that each discipline major can be taught by just 3 staff if they get rid of all the content. And that will save money.

3/ My own discipline of sociology is losing 11 of 14 academics yet we have had a 65% increase in student enrolments this year and have more students than areas not being cut. Same story for other areas being hit with staff cuts.

1/At Macquarie Uni we are losing 50% of our units in my faculty. This is on top of cuts in 2020. We estimate by next year my faculty will be teaching 80% fewer subjects than pre Covid. Disciplines being cut do not have declining enrolments. @jennaprice.bsky.social @michaelwestbiz.bsky.social

Wow. From an article in The Guardian.

Britain's chemical castration plan for sex offenders seems like the most obvious attempt to avoid doing anything about sex offending, while giving the govt an excuse to release large numbers of offenders despite the fact people can and do offend while chemically castrated.

Timetabling chaos looms because of yet another management balls up at Cardiff Uni. Students are going to be rightly angry about this, and it’s hard-pressed @cardiffucu.bsky.social members who’ll have to bear the brunt of it. How long before our once great reputation dissolves completely?

That's a Labour government minister berating university students and staff by saying that 'too often people go to university to "explore research and knowledge"'. I'm very glad of our students who study history to explore research and knowledge.

🚨Welsh (& UK) HE in a state of emergency.🚨 Cardiff Uni, Cardiff Met, Aber, Swansea, *and* Bangor all in dire straits. The sector’s leadership using the crisis to push through irrevocable changes. We need action from Governments to address this financial trash fire NOW. www.bbc.com/news/article...

If you’re on academia dot edu, let me suggest that you strongly consider deleting your account.

Journalists have been detained and a van showing images of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein has been confiscated in Windsor. This follows a separate incident in which four people were arrested for projecting images onto Windsor Castle.

It's odd to me that no UK university seems to have recognised the potential recruitment advantage of promising prospective students "Your work will never be marked using AI, unlike at [growing list of institutions]".

Let's all to take a deep breath & understand that we have reached the phase in fascism where if they want to declare you a criminal, you are a criminal. You can not magically avoid it, or do exactly the right thing to stay off the list. Fascism must always have enemies, and one day you will be one.

I talked with @joshshepperd.bsky.social recently about how public media developed and the role it filled especially in its early years. Became more relevant more quickly than I hoped.

#OtD 16 Sep 1902 Berlin-based anti-fascist resistance martyr Mildred Fish-Harnack was born in Milwaukee. Under Hitler she recruited others to the resistance and organised against Nazism until she was arrested in 1942 and later beheaded. More in our pod: workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e63-...

📣Decent coverage of #bisexuality alert!📣

NIH Director’s Pulsing Neck Tumor Announces Cancer Research Cuts

"…and Magda Goebbels made a great strudel.”

We hope the Hillsborough Law will be enacted – and usher in a new era of accountability and honesty in public office. But the threat of more consequences will have to bring about a huge change in the culture of governance in the UK. We’ll believe it when we see it. https://bit.ly/4pHOM3t

It's wild to look at the absolute state of contemporary higher education and conclude in hindsight that the tuition fee hike was like, you know, really pragmatic

White supremacy is not a “legitimate view.” Vilifying migrants is not “reasonable debate.” Eugenics is not a “controversial belief.” Genocide is not a “justified action.” These are all examples of violent racism. We should recognise this basic fact and reject such politics unapologetically.

“Most Jews are against genocide, and we were taught to be against genocide, and we were taught, as well, that 'never again' is a slogan that should apply to all people.”

"We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically." www.ru.nl/en/research/...

That Keir Starmer's government would a) swiftly become unpopular and b) the far right would surge as a result was entirely predictable. It was predicted. I predicted it before Rishi Sunak called the election, because it was obvious: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If you're protesting, it's vital you know your rights Save these bust cards, share with others, write phone numbers on your arm, look for legal observers if you need assistance and remember to say "no comment" without a lawyer Keep yourselves and each other safe

If you want to know about the state of British media, these 'formidable obstacles' include assault of a police officer, ABH, football hooliganism, entering the US on a false passport, mortgage fraud, stalking, endangering a grooming trial, defaming a 15 year old refugee and a lifetime of racism.

“Unfortunately, we have a Labour government seemingly determined to outflank Reform on immigration . . .These attacks are having a severe impact on the financial health of the sector” - @drjogrady.bsky.social in the @theipaper.com today inews.co.uk/news/flag-wa...

If you see this, repost with a vampire that is not Dracula

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

#OtD 15 Sep 1963 four African-American girls were killed and 22 others were wounded after KKK members planted a bomb against a predominantly Black church in Birmingham, Alabama. This act of terrorism marked a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8743...

I don’t care if you think homosexuality is a “choice.” But I do care if you choose to be homophobic. My safety, rights, visibility and identity as a gay person shouldn’t depend on whether you think I was “born this way” or not. You don’t need a biological reason to respect my existence. Just saying.

Read the replies for lots of up-to-date examples of independent & critical UK local news outlets.👇🔥

Advice please: what are the new local journalism outlets sticking it to power? I'm thinking of publications like the Bristol Cable, Inside Croydon and West Country Voices. Which others should be on the list? Thanks.

What would Orwell think about a huge face on a gigantic screen telling a crowd of people they should wage war on foreigners and dissidents? No way of knowing, I guess.

Some big news: the University of Birmingham is launching a new MA in Gender & Sexuality. It's interdisciplinary, with a focus on combining theory & practice. It's going to be amazing. I'm convening it: message or email with questions. www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/postgr... @unibirmingham.bsky.social

is chin zumping the solution to dopamine cheeks? is nose bongling the solution to serotonin brows? is eye vooming the solution to adrenal ears?