👀 Florida attorney general to OpenAI: (www.myfloridalegal.com/sites/defaul...)

Superb exposition from William Pettigrew of how slave trading (let alone the whole plantation complex that depended on it) was “enmeshed in the processes that produced the nation we know today”. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/comm...

Freedom-loving Britain was at the heart of the 18th century slave trade – and this register proves it | William Pettigrew

Register of British Slave Traders reveals how deeply the trafficking of Africans was embedded in the country’s politics, economy, institutions and culture

theguardian.com

One for every Labour MP to read. #ldconf

30 years ago, Lincoln was 'on its knees' - then the university arrived

The construction of the University of Lincoln marked a turning point in the city's fortunes

lincolnshirelive.co.uk

“Pressure is rising across every Planetary Boundary already outside the safe operating space. It means that the risk of large-scale, persistent and potentially irreversible change is increasing, while our margin for error in tackling these problems is shrinking”.

Aarne Granlund@aarnegranlund.eurosky.social · last wk.

"The seven transgressed boundaries are: climate change, change in biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change, modification of biogeochemical flows, introduction of novel entities, and ocean acidification." @pik-potsdam.bsky.social www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late...

My new short post, “Remigration is Genocide”, about Palestine, Germany and Uganda. If of interest, please share. www.musaokwonga.com/takes/genoci...

We now have rigorous pooled data showing that even without active restoration efforts, cleared rainforest can rebound to 75% of their former species composition and 90% of species diversity within just thirty years. #goodnews

Rainforest biodiversity rebounds within a single generation | The Optimist Daily

A major Ecuador study finds cleared rainforests can recover 90 percent of their species diversity in just 30 years, as long as humans leave the land alone.

optimistdaily.com

'Accounts described elephants selecting particular plants when they seemed unwell, and mothers reportedly giving medicinal plant material to their calves. ...the researchers concluded that the elephants use 35 different plant species, and that 25 of those are known locally to have medicinal uses.'

Elephants treat themselves with medicinal plants, witnesses say

African elephants use dozens of different medicinal plants to treat themselves and their families when they are sick, research reveals.

bbc.co.uk

Better late than never.

Liam Thorp@liamthorp.bsky.social · 5d ago

Exclusive: I asked Andy Burnham about the gangs of masked thugs marauding around parts of our country and asked if he and his government should be doing more to call out their actions He called them ‘poisonous’ amongst other strong words. His condemnation was unequivocal. Full story here 👇

The PM is asked if Mr Daniel Thomas ("Danny Tommo") is racist, on the BBC "Its hard to conclude he has anything but racist views", he says. He doesnt like to just throw labels but his actions have been "the worst kind of hateful behaviour".

I’m a dual national. I’m not planing on committing any crimes anytime soon, let alone ones with a sentence of 5+ years, but if I ever did I’m not sure why my second passport should disqualify me from facing the same British justice system as everyone else and instead strip me of my citizenship

Peter Walker@peterwalker99.bsky.social · 5d ago

Two-tier British citizenship latest.

When I teach Susan Neiman’s Learning from the Germans, it’s the Stolperstein that students find most powerful as an example of ‘working off the past’. I don’t think Neiman would be surprised at this news, which underlines what’s at stake in that work - and the importance of learning from it.

Giles MacDonogh@gilesmacdonogh.bsky.social · 5d ago

AfD bans Stolpersteine: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

There must be many tens of thousands of stories like Wendy’s. Each one is a testimony to this commitment to the worth of each person. Worth a read and then donate to support this amazing voluntary service.

Wendy Dossett@wedossett.bsky.social · 6d ago

Short post in which I tell the story of being rescued after falling out of kayak as a teenager. Those people on the far-right who undermine the work of the RNLI are striking at the very heart of communities and at the apparently radical idea that everyone matters. www.wedossett.com/post/rescue

It’s brilliant to see two key government reviews will likely seek to end the pointless reassessment of many disabled people. I’ve written for years it’s a waste of resources and has a huge strain on disabled people forced into regularly proving their condition. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Severely disabled young people should get fast-track access to benefits, Milburn says

Alan Milburn said 16- to 24-year-olds with most complex needs should not have to keep proving they cannot work

theguardian.com

Important read

Natasha Walter@natashawalter.bsky.social · 6d ago

It’s much much harder now to be an anti racist than it is to be a racist. That’s one of the things I learned from talking to Rachel Marsh, who has been doxxed and abused for standing up to the far right. www.thenerve.news/p/rachel-mar...

Kirsti, an architect - directly affected - on her MP not appearing to understand that protecting [only] care workers would mean forcing out vets, architects, chefs and many others (but perhaps unwittingly for most MPs + ministers who have not spotted this) bsky.app/profile/heri...

Kirsti M@heritage-meisie.bsky.social · 6d ago

Trying to get a surgery with my MP to explain to her that the exemption for care workers won’t help me (she keeps sending me the same response saying she supports care workers) & am being ignored…I don’t think they understand in the slightest.

If you’ve seen or shared news about programme closures at Edinburgh (not least in Theology & Religious Studies) please see this appeal from Prof Rachel Muers. The reports are misleading.

Strange and welcome to have UK gov talking about severity and immanence of climate risks again. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer

El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers

theguardian.com

i mean who needs universities it’s not like they play a vital role in the UK’s economy, global standing and cultural vitality

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last wk.

'Latest figures released by the Home Office show that the rolling 12-month rate for visa refusals up to June was 4.9 per cent, with overall refusals likely to have climbed higher over the summer.' Punch the patient lying on the floor. Then require it to be 'world-beating'.

I see ‘quiet revival’ has quieyly migrated to cricket commentary (possibly without an awareness of the original context? Unless the writer is having a sly dug?) www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

England vs Sri Lanka: Will Jacks' career-best 5-22 helps hosts win in Durham

Will Jacks' all-round efforts help England grind out an 89-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street.

bbc.co.uk

Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.

A lot of Labour people visibly believe that a Labour government gives off tolerance particles, and therefore sitting mute is fine and good. The reality is that it took a cross party, whole society effort to make us, as Sunak says, the most successful multiethnic, multifaith democracy in the world:

Rishi Sunak: Britishness must not be turned into a DNA test

I worry that the immigration debate is going far beyond arrival numbers

thetimes.com

I think it should be a source of deep embarrassment – and perhaps even shame – that Rishi Sunak has spoken out on this before Andy Burnham has.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 2w ago

Former PM Rishi Sunak in the Sunday Times challenges the rise of ethno-nationalism in British politics, as an argument within the right about Britishness being about ancestry, DNA and ethnicity www.thetimes.com/article/e89d...

On Tues 13th October I'm giving the annual Hook Lecture in Leeds, on disability, belonging and justice in churches and society. Please share with anyone who might be interested. Hope to see you there! #DisabilityTheology #DisabilityStudies www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-hook-l...

The Hook Lecture 2026: Just Belonging

Disability, Justice and Churches by Dr Naomi Lawson Jacobs

eventbrite.co.uk

"RNLI crew members had been forced to take their permits off their cars after their tyres have been repeatedly slashed. Most of them have been pilloried at the school gates or turned away from local pubs. One man who worked in search and rescue had been beaten unconscious and hospitalised"

Nicola Kelly@nicolakellywrites.bsky.social · 2w ago

I have spent weeks shadowing the RNLI and I can tell you, they do it out of nothing more than compassion. Wrote about the heroes I've met over the years in this free-to-read post. nicolakelly.substack.com/p/the-rnli-a...

It's time to keep the cranks out of the National Trust again.

Louise, Prof/Dr@louiselocock.bsky.social · 3w ago

Oh blimey, here we go again. Time to vote in the National Trust AGM to keep so-called 'Restore Trust' off the council. Use the quick vote to ensure we don't split the anti-Restore vote. Or.... 1/2 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...

***URGENT PLEASE SHARE*** University of Brighton management have announced today that they ‘give notice of termination of all collective agreements’. This is a fundamental erasure of workers' rights. Management have announced the termination of all contractual documents, which includes:

University and College Union (UCU)@ucu.org.uk · 2w ago

UCU members at Brighton University face the threat of derecognition. We have called an emergency rally tomorrow at 1:15pm. It would be amazing to see as many #TUC26 delegates as possible in attendance. 58-67 Grand Parade, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 0JY

If you ever find yourself telling an employee "Just don't use the toilet at work", take a moment, and phone a serious lawyer, because you are about to make an expensive mistake.

Not entirely up to date: still listing Spurgeon’s College as a TRS provider. Went bust and closed in July last year.

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3w ago

Yes, newspapers' "Good University" guides are deeply problematic and pernicious. But they're also a real reminder of a key strength of the current UK HE system: the distribution of excellence across the full range of institutions and places.

A serious democratic society simply cannot allow this. That's £72 million from just two men. (Both, until lately, based overseas). The average UK earner (full-time) would have to work for over 1,800 years to raise that much. It's a nuclear strike on any pretence at the equality of political power

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 3w ago

Harborne has given Reform £36 million to match Delo's £36 million. The Telegraph describes it as a "show of force" from Reform's donors. The two men's £72 million is greater than all of the spending by all political parties on the 2024 GE www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

The most fundamental question in politics is: whose support do you need to win and hold power? Is it warlords, aristocrats, empires or "the demos"? If the answer is "billionaires", you are not a democracy but a plutocracy. That's why democracies *must* erect barricades against capture by the rich

Duncan Hames@duncanhames.bsky.social · 3w ago

Democratic politics will not serve the people when politicians owe their place and their futures to one or two billionaires.