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Rosalynd Southern

@rosalynd.bsky.social

Senior Lecturer in Pol Comm at UoLiverpool. Online Pol Comm / Elections / Gender. UCU Rep. Socialist. Feminist. She/her. Views mine

222 Posts805 Follower719 Folgt
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…
The Guardian@theguardian.com · last mo.

US rapist who fled to Scotland after appearing to fake own death dies in hospital

US rapist who fled to Scotland after appearing to fake own death dies in hospital

Nicholas Rossi died due to complications from a medical condition while serving jail sentence in Utah Nicholas Rossi, the American rapist who absconded to Scotland after appearing to fake his own death in an attempt to evade justice, has died in hospital in the US. The 38-year-old had been serving a jail sentence in Utah after being found guilty of raping two women in 2008 following two separate trials in 2024. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

greg2hats@cyberbadboy.com · last mo.

They should make some movies with positive representations of liminal spaces. Like when you work at a convenience store and you can go in the walk in behind the drinks. You can smoke back there and steal sodas. Why don't they show that on the movies

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · last mo.

Very interesting paper finds that when South Korea suspended its “low-skilled” guest worker program, the result was not a rise in wages for native Koreans doing those jobs, it was the opposite; current employees got reassigned to those jobs and took pay cuts and firms went under.

NBER National Bureau of ECONOMIC RESEARCH The Effects of a Sudden Stop in Low-Skilled Immigration: Evidence from Korea's Guest Worker Program Jongkwan Lee, Giovanni Peri & Hee- Seung Yang. As workforces in high-income countries age and shrink, immigrants increasingly fill entry-level, low-skilled jobs. We examine what happens when this labor supply is abruptly reduced, exploiting South Korea's sudden suspension of its low-skilled guest worker program following the 2020 COVID-19 border closure. Using policy-driven variation in firms' pre-pandemic reliance on immigrant labor, we show that the collapse in inflows led to a significant increase in firm exit. Among surviving firms, greater pre-pandemic dependence on immigrant workers resulted in production disruptions and operational delays. Firms did not respond by expanding domestic hiring to replace missing guest workers. Instead, they adjusted by reallocating incumbent Korean employees toward lower-skilled tasks, contributing to occupational downgrading and significant wage declines. These findings suggest that low-skilled immigrant workers were not easily substitutable in the short run and that tighter immigration constraints can impose substantial adjustment costs on both firms and native workers.
Dan Douglas@dandouglas.bsky.social · 2mo ago

the year is 2030 and you need a face scan, retinal scan, voice scan and to answer 20 questions about your family, health and employment history every time you use the computer. but don’t worry your personal data is safe with Butterfingers Corp in partnership with The Dark Web

madeline odent@oldenoughtosay.com · 2mo ago

I think every politician who proposes to ban anything on the internet for teens should be required to propose, as an alternate, a free and accessible and all weather space for teens to hang out in their own hometown

Dr Vanessa@hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Your periodic reminder that the second largest city in the UK has not had a domestic recycling service for nearly a year and a half and there is not even a draft deal to resolve the strike. When people say the UK is crumbling/declining, it's this sort of thing & it makes people easy to radicalise.

photo of a small street, hedge to left, low rise 60s houses to the right. foreground is a driveway with 2 cars, 2 wheelie bins and a heap of torn open black plastic rubbish sacks, with litter strewn around.
Jess Asato MP@jessasatomp.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The ability of Grok to strip women and children was not an accident. Safeguards could have been built into the chatbot, but its creators chose not to. I'm launching this High Court claim to pursue accountability for those choices.

Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The way the entire British media is suddenly discussing 'two tier policing' as if it is a real thing worth seriously debating, rather than the obvious far-right white supremacist fantasy it has always been, is very alarming

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Stefan Mohamed@stefmowords.bsky.social · 2mo ago

not going to say there's zero value in Starmer coming out against Farage and the far right today but I will say any statements from him have been significantly, if not fatally devalued by his utter failure to deal with this stuff for the past *two years*. you can't fan these flames then play fireman