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John Levin

@anterotesis.bsky.social

Digital History, Radical History, Social History. Dadaists, Anti-Artists, Cultural Deserters. Coin clippers, Debtors escaping and imprisoned, Londoners. Critics and Critiques of Political Economy. Open Access, Public Domain, Hacking Around. And Cats.

498 Posts1497 Follower455 Folgt
Holly Casio@hollycasio.bsky.social · yesterday

Here a compilation of stupid things library consultants have said to me in solidarity with library pals at Lambeth Libraries where genius consultants has decided that a qualified head of library service post isn't really essential.

Dr Sarah J Young@sarahjyoung.bsky.social · 2d ago

“Thick accumulations of Ukrainian consonants conspire against my tongue and my memory: airless crushes of them, like the compressed folds of a concertina.” Lovely piece on learning Ukrainian in wartime by Charlotte Higgins www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

‘The war leaked into every lesson’: learning Ukrainian in a country under siege

The long read: Soon after my first visit to Ukraine four years ago, I began language lessons. It taught me more than I ever expected

theguardian.com

Ash Oro@ashoro.co.uk · 3d ago

1/14 A brief break from #TheHormuzCrisis. I've never really explained why the phrase "put the Navy in the Channel" to stop #SmallBoat crossings isn't, in itself, a serious maritime strategy. It sounds decisive. From a maritime perspective though, it raises far more questions than it answers.

A screenshot of a headline from the second of august 2026 which says, Reform UK unveils plan for largest military operations since world war 2 to stop small boats. Reform UK's spokesman claimed the move would render the border impenetrable, ensuring nobody could reach UK shores via small boat. By Helen Corbett.
Le Monde@lemonde.fr · 7d ago

L’écrivain belge Raoul Vaneigem, insurgé lyrique contre la société marchande, est mort

L’écrivain belge Raoul Vaneigem, insurgé lyrique contre la société marchande, est mort

Le philosophe, un des leaders du mouvement situationniste, prônait une liberté d’expression radicale. Son « Traité de savoir-vivre à l’usage des jeunes générations » avait contribué à l’éclosion du mouvement de Mai 1968. Il s’est éteint mardi 28 juillet à 92 ans.

lemonde.fr

John Levin@anterotesis.bsky.social · last wk.

New to me: España Esclavista: "The main goal of this website ... is to showcase and highlight the many material traces of Spain's slave-holding past that still exist in our towns and cities today." espanaesclavista.es (en español, obviamente) #History #EnslavedHistory

Inicio - España esclavista

España Esclavista es una herramienta para divulgar los legados materiales del pasado esclavista español y ofrecer recursos e información sobre dicha realidad.

espanaesclavista.es

John Levin@anterotesis.bsky.social · 2w ago

On Burnham's minister for AI: Blog post version: pivot-to-ai.com/2026/07/21/n... Personally, I'm undecided whether this decision is pathetically stupid, or dangerously stupid.

New UK PM Andy Burnham puts AI Britain into the Cabinet

Andy Burnham, Britain’s new Prime Minister, is steering a careful course between being the new face of hope for a tired nation, and frantically assuring his backers that nothing will change. But Bu…

pivot-to-ai.com

David Gerard@davidgerard.circumstances.run.ap.brid.gy · 2w ago

New UK PM Andy Burnham puts AI Britain into the Cabinet Kanishka Narayan, your new Minister for the AI Bros https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRv9wcfCogw&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA - video […] [Original post on circumstances.run]

the incredibly distinctive Kanishka Narayan, on a field of AI stars
John Levin@anterotesis.bsky.social · 3w ago

For Haydon's painting of the Mock Election see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moc... And also the companion picture, Chairing the Member: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairin... #CarceralHistory #History

The Mock Election - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

pasttensehistories.bsky.social@pasttensehistories.bsky.social · 3w ago

#OnThisDay in penal history, 1827: Kings Bench Prisoners hold mock election, satirising the farcical election process of the time. wp.me/p74yfw-aU

elia ayoub@ayoub.bsky.social · 3w ago

Jesus. 35 UK universities quietly- without debate - joined the Ministry of Defence’s “Battlefield Alliance” which seeks to “reorientate academia towards Defence and National Security” They’re destroying the social sciences and humanities while militarising the institutions

• Durham University • Newcastle University • Northumbria University • Lancaster University • University of Cumbria • University of Lancashire • University of Liverpool • University of Manchester • University of Huddersfield • University of Sheffield • University of York • Loughborough University • University of Lincoln • University of Nottingham • Aston University • University of Birmingham • University of Warwick • King's College London • Kingston University • Queen Mary University of London • University College London • University of Oxford • University of Portsmouth • University of Surrey • University of Bath • University of Bristol • University of Exeter • University of Plymouth • University of Edinburgh • University of Glasgow • University of Strathclyde • Cardiff University • Swansea University • Queens University Belfast • Cranfield UniversityFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14 July 2026 UK Universities Betray Public Trust by Joining MoD's 'Battlefield Advantage' Alliance Without Debate A coalition of campaign groups has accused UK universities of quietly integrating themselves into Britain's defence infrastructure after 35 institutions signed up to the Ministry of Defence's Defence Universities Alliance (DUA). The Ministry of Defence says the alliance aims to "reorientate academia towards Defence and National Security", strengthen links between universities and the defence sector, and translate research into "battlefield advantage". Campaigners say the move represents a significant shift in the role of higher education and has taken place without meaningful public debate. Among the founding members are the University of Oxford, University College London, King's College London, the University of Manchester, the University of Edinburgh, Cardiff University and Queen's University Belfast. "We are witnessing the formal incorporation of Britain's universities into the defence ecosystem," said Jinsella Kennaway, Founder and Executive Director of Demilitarise Education. "The Ministry of Defence is explicit about its intentions. Universities exist to advance knowledge and foster critical inquiry, not to become pipelines for military research and defence recruitment. Students and staff deserve to know who agreed to this and why." Campaigners are calling on all 35 universities to publish the governance documents and board minutes relating to their decision to join the alliance, and to explain whether staff and students were consulted. Many UK universities already maintain relationships with major defence companies, including BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo, Thales, Lockheed Martin and QinetiQ. Critics argue that the DUA formalises and accelerates the integration of academia, industry and the state. The coalition warns that, at a time of rising defence spending, universities risk becoming increasingly aligned with governme…
Dada@dadaists.bsky.social · 3w ago

Interesting review that touches upon the rejection of modernism by many British left-wing artists. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4... Laugh out loud moment: "Picasso was held in disdain: some AIA artists .... maintained that Guernica was a lesser work of political art than their own efforts."

Owen Hatherley · Raised on Spam: British Communist Art

The Artists International Association created the sort of art which has had critical manure heaped on it since the 1940s...

lrb.co.uk

London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 3w ago

‘The AIA created the sort of art which has had critical manure heaped on it since the 1940s: realist, figurative, agitational, achingly sincere.’ Owen Hatherley on British anti-fascist art in the 1930s. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

João Florêncio@noisybits.bsky.social · last mo.

Just heard about the 200 redundancies announced by my previous employer, the University of Exeter. 170 of those are in Humanities and Social Sciences. This is what happens in a country with the collapsing HE funding system with VCs-cum-CEOs on £300k salaries+bonuses and corporate governing bodies.

Bild
Andy Mabbett@pigsonthewing.org.uk · 2mo ago

Good work; but why do we have to go to a dodgy US company for this? Why aren't Parliament/ National Archives/ British Library (adequately resourced for) making them available?

John Levin@anterotesis.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Parliamentary Papers, released by Google into the #PublicDomain: 1922, v1: books.google.co.uk/books?id=VcM... 1922, v2: books.google.co.uk/books?id=sbI... 1922, v4: books.google.co.uk/books?id=VcM... 1923, v5: books.google.co.uk/books?id=YRz... 1959-60, v4: books.google.co.uk/books?id=-yH...

Dada@dadaists.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Now on at the Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen: “Unlock your heads at last!” Dada as political art between the world wars www.verfolgte-kuenste.com/en/wechselau... #dada

“Unlock your heads at last!” – Ausstellung des Zentrums für verfolgte Künste

Anti-bourgeois, anarchist, and pacifist, Dada, with its sharp eye and biting satire, offered social criticism, questioning prevailing values ​​as well as political and social conditions and dynamics, ...

verfolgte-kuenste.com