Change the name of the institution and the vampire consultants and this is the same story at any number of different institutions. A national scandal.

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 3d ago

Behind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...

Perfection! don't know why but I have always loved hares and have them reproduced in many art forms: wool, ink, paint, pottery. And green is my favourite colour.

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 3d ago

THREAD/ORIGINAL ART GIVEAWAY This hare linoprint is by my mum, Jo. I'll be sending an original of this to one randomly chosen person who reposts this link to my recently updated website & pops a reply below. www.tom-cox.com The offer is open worldwide. I also have some more art to give away...

Seventy-two bodies have been recovered off #Ceuta and seventeen along the Moroccan coast, including children. Yet politics focuses elsewhere: Italy suspends Schengen, Trump exploits the tragedy, and Europe argues over responsibility.

Absolutely disgusting. When I compare this to how the Netherlands has treated me and my OH, it makes me doubly ashamed to be British. Just imagine what the Govt and tabloids would say if EU countries were doing this to 100s of Brits abroad.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4d ago

EU citizens in UK get letters telling them post-Brexit residency rights were given ‘in error’

Beware the government that wants a codified constitution, for it will be a constitution codified - stacked - in the government's favour.

Alan Rew@alanrew.bsky.social · 4d ago

Burnham says devolution plan paves the way for a written UK constitution www.ft.com/content/72e4...

Civil Defense in Gaza: The bodies and remains of 112 Palestinians, including 40 children and 38 women, were recovered from under the rubble of homes destroyed by Israel in November 2023 after 136 hours of work. The bodies of another 157 missing persons could not be found under the rubble

Rima I Anabtawi@rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 4d ago

Preparations are underway in Gaza for the funeral procession of over 100 martyrs from the Abu Sharia and Hasayna families in the Sabra neighborhood. They perished in one of the largest massacres witnessed since the beginning of the war.

Fabulous. And should also boost the ability of those working in #repaircafes to do their stuff.

@alexvonwitzleben.bsky.social · 4d ago

The #RighttoRepair Directive encourages sustainable consumption by making it easier to repair products instead of replacing them. Today, it becomes applicable helping #consumers save money, reduce #waste, extend the lifecycle of products, reduce CO2 emissions commission.europa.eu/law/law-topi...

Excellent, wide-ranging discussion. Lots here about agency and structure, e.g. how the language we use simultaneously removes our agency & reduces our sense that structural remedies could actually be effected.

Kate Devlin@drkatedevlin.bsky.social · 2w ago

I did an interview with the fab @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social from @bylinetimes.bsky.social and here it is, for those who have not yet heard my lengthy discourse on why genAI often sucks, why techbros definitely suck, and why a U16 social media ban is downright stupid: bylinetimes.com/2026/07/21/t...

Trying to imagine a 1960s sci fi novel where the biggest industry on earth is the active and overt undermining of public information and the stock market loves it and government is like "Well let's see what happens"

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 5d ago

New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...

I could care less about football but my word it's good to see this. Now we know there is a limit to what UEFA will allow FIFA and Infantino to do.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb.bsky.social · 6d ago

The full statement from UEFA is remarkable. Members vow not to participate in FIFA competitions unless the entire proposal is scrapped and assurances are made it is gone for good.

Not sure who did this but they should be arrested immediately.

📉 Global chip stocks are selling off — and no one can agree on exactly why. We break down the multiple triggers on today's Reuters Morning Bid podcast reut.rs/4fEQ2A8

Sweet Jesus. Why are people so determined to kill satire? At times like this, I become a real advocate for bringing back shame.

Brendan Keogh@brkeogh.bsky.social · last wk.

Surely the solution here is just *don't use AI tools* for your writing and research and continue to do your writing and research in ALL the ways you were doing it before you started using AI instead of doing the work??

Nour Odeh exposes the staggering scale of Zionist land theft. Israel has built 104 new illegal settlements and demolished over 5,400 Palestinian homes! The establishment is completely silent on this massive ethnic cleansing campaign.🤬🤬🤬

“Anti-immigration protests were most widely referenced by journalists, both regarding the in-person risks of attending the marches and the backlash to any subsequent reporting.”

A third of UK journalists have changed how or what they report over fears for safety, study finds

Government-backed investigation finds risks are normalised amid ‘a narrowing of the public conversation’

theguardian.com

Fabulous and so very much worth the read. "AI is the asbestos we're shoveling into the walls of our civilization and our descendants will be digging it out for generations."

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 2w ago

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: pluralistic.net/2026/07/24/s... 2/

Once again the EU's Digital Markets Act helps to protect European consumers, in this case fining Google almost €900 million for infringements of EU rules. More than ever, regulation of Big Tech matters. www.politico.eu/article/eu-f...

EU fines Google €890M for breaching Big Tech rulebook

Brussels orders U.S. search giant to overhaul how it ranks rivals in search results and how it polices its app store — or face further penalties.

politico.eu

"The list also now includes those convicted of illegally handling or stealing nuclear materials, smuggling weapons, ammunition, or explosive, radioactive or pathogenic substances, and losing documents containing state secrets." www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/202...

Bandits, gang members and drug traffickers: Russia expands recruitment of convicts for war

Russia's State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, has expanded the list of convicted criminals that Russian authorities will be able to recruit into the armed forces during mobilisation,...

pravda.com.ua

"They had denied the charges, claiming they were in Angola for cultural and business activities." Of course they did.

Two Russian men jailed in Angola for terrorism and spying

The men were convicted over alleged plan to stage coup and organise deadly demonstrations over fuel prices last year

theguardian.com

Here is a great explainer on how Russia - China relationship changed since 2022 and what should be expected for the next 5 years ridl.io/china-and-ru...

China and Russia: An Alliance Without Obligations – Riddle Russia

Alexey Chigadaev on Russia-China relations after 2022

ridl.io

So good to see these changes, add'l to those on compensation: "a free personal item on every ticket, upfront pricing with carry-on included, protected return flights ... free family seating for children under 14".

Euronews@euronews.com · 2w ago

The European Council has given its final green light to a major overhaul of EU air passenger rights, starting a 12-month countdown for airlines to prepare and adopt the new rules. Watch the video #EuXl

John Healey in No 11 is a stroke of political genius. Money & mouths. Will also be interesting to see what's now demanded from DoD & the military in terms of smart, efficient working to help make those sums work. In a hybrid war environment, education is a vital component & needs funding. We'll see.

Thoughts and prayers for the future of the lectern guy.

One consequence of the churn in No 10 in the last 2 decades is that today seems all too familiar, even mundane. For a country where stability, tradition and ceremony has meant so much, this suggests a significant shift in the sense of British self has occurred - and in a rather under-regarded way.

Who said offshore wind turbines were bad for sea life? Researchers described the turbine foundations as functioning as sustained reef habitat for marine resources, a role that once belonged only to natural rock formations and purpose-built artificial reefs. www.ecoportal.net/en/divers-we...

Divers went down to check on 69 offshore wind turbines off the coast of Taiwan, and the 86 species they found living in the steel had never been recorded there before

Divers surveying 69 offshore wind turbines off Taiwan found 86 fish species living on the steel foundations — none had ever been recorded there before construction.

ecoportal.net

Local plumbers two steps ahead of every university administrator in america 👏

Metin Seven (Moon Child's dad 🌝)@seven.eurosky.social · 3w ago

Is anyone aware of any pushback against OA publishing in the context of it suggesting a free pass for uploading to AI models?

If you’re wondering why UK press has suddenly woken up to Farage, please read this. It’s because: Brexit. The r/w press refused to scrutinise the money behind Farage & the lawsuit against me scared off the rest. But this isn’t a new scandal. It’s the same one I’ve been reporting on for a decade

THE NERVE@thenerve.news · 3w ago

NEW: Who funds Nigel Farage? And why has it taken till now for any journalistic scrutiny? @carolecadwalla.bsky.social who has tracked him for a decade exposes how the UK press & regulators looked the other way 🧵👇

"A trustee of Lit and Phil, said the lecture was brought about “by our society feeling the life and times of Frederick Douglass needed to be better known – he left a template for a kind of activism that is still needed today”."

‘He became a sensation’: Manchester pays tribute to abolitionist Frederick Douglass

Annual lectures will discuss work of writer and campaigner who ‘revitalised the anti-slavery cause’ in Britain

theguardian.com

Breathtaking hypocrisy, with no hint of understanding of his own privilege.

Germany’s CDU parliamentary leader resigns after using surrogacy to become parent

Jens Spahn had criticised ‘rented wombs’ and his party is opposed to surrogacy, which is banned in Germany

theguardian.com