Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · 2d

Every bit of public health news from the USA at the moment makes me hope the UK has contingency plans for if they start the next pandemic. Need to be ready if they are turning their country into an experimental petri dish.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 2d

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

James Wallis @jameswallis.bsky.social · 3d

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
www.anthropic.com/research/sma...

A small number of samples can poison LLMs of any size

Anthropic research on data-poisoning attacks in large language models

www.anthropic.com

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · 14d

I've been in Japan for a week and today I found the only Psyduck Pokémon manhole cover in all of Japan. Personal geek travel goal achieved!

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · 22d

Inbox zero'd, out of office on, work phone off.

Holiday on its way

Maybe i should start packing

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · 24d

Yes please

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 25d

I gave a talk this week on the vulnerability of UK institutions to a populist govt and I was told by an audience member that the US and Hungary couldn't happen here. I said it absolutely could and Reform are learning fast. The complacency is scary

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · 29d

Everything is tuberculosis by @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social. I think is very accessible for young folk. It provides some of the best history of illness and history challenging the white genius tropes that seep into public health history. The further reading recommendations at the end are top notch

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

Paul Belcher FRCP MFPH Hon 🇪🇺🇬🇧 @pauljbelcher.bsky.social · Sep 12

🌐 The End of the #NGO Era?

“struggling to remain relevant, under pressure from governments that mistrust them, a public that questions their legitimacy, & donors who demand greater efficiency & local ownership”

#Democracy #CivilSociety

@thegoodlobby.bsky.social

thegoodlobby.eu/the-end-of-t...

The End of the NGO Era? | The Good Lobby

A recent study offers one of the clearest pictures to date of the evolution of the international NGO sector.

thegoodlobby.eu

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

Brett Gray @bcgray.bsky.social · Sep 5

I woman in the process of a divorce (often the worst time in people’s lives) trying to make provision for a disabled son wasn’t careful enough around a highly complex bit of tax and property law. I kind of have a bit of sympathy here.

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · Sep 5

And there she goes... Meanwhile Wes Streeting, awash with cash from private healthcare firms, remains...

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Sep 5

I really hope our health agencies and border control start drafting vaccine entry requirements for people travelling from USA. We should treat this threat to global health like we would a novel infectious outbreak.

Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Sep 5

The UK head of the equality commission speaking on radio 4 is either ignorant or wilfully misrepresenting who is covered by the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. By malice or incompetence she shows her bias.

Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

Jo Hutchinson @jojohutchinson.bsky.social · Sep 3

I mean, fine. But I’d like to hear from Streeting on committing to expand CAMHS and mental health support teams for young people to a capacity that is somewhere north of totally inadequate. This is deckchair stuff by comparison.

Energy drinks to be banned for under-16s

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said he was acting on concerns for children's health.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Sep 3

Nothing Streeting has done makes me believe Children and young people are his priority. I see how he treats some of the must vulnerable young people.

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Sep 2

I prefer whispering them to the waves.

But when I slow down I feel moss growing on me.

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

David Roberts @volts.wtf · Aug 28

I genuinely think one thing that trips up folks on the left is that they can't imagine not sharing certain core values. Lemme explain. Here's an intuition pump:

Say you're in negotiations with counterparty X. And there are two possible deals on the table ...

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

DC Bradshaw ✍️ Little but Fierce @dcbradshaw.com · Aug 31

LITTLE BUT FIERCE, the child-friendly version of D&D 5E is crowdfunding a fully illustrated hardback release!

Follow for updates:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dcb...

Two pages of a Little but Fierce hero sheet, showing the streamlined rules and simplfied language

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Aug 29

"I don't care what anyone says, I LOVE that movie"

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Aug 27

Thank you for the message, I look forward to seeing the page go live

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Aug 27

Will it be international backer friendly?
The last few US kickstarters I supported have treated us like second class customers with us being the last to receive rewards, regardless of tier or backer number. Longer delays and worse tracking. Makes me nervous to back any more US campaigns

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Aug 26

Sounds awesome and you had a fantastic beach to be in with friends. Great use of a Monday

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Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Aug 26

This is horrific, I hate how complicated and unclear this all is for so many businesses. I hope things get cleared up and you can raise the price for US customers to offset you increased expenses.

Gareth Blindfish @blindfish.bsky.social · Aug 26

As an ex lifeguard and swimming teacher this both is 100% understandable and makes me deeply sad (if you wish to swim). Ive always wanted everyone who wants to swim be given full access to swim without any barriers. I hope you enjoyed some time at the beach.

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

acet UK @esteem-acetuk.bsky.social · Aug 25

In Thailand, nearly half of all new HIV cases are among young people. That’s why we’re stepping into classrooms and youth spaces to teach about healthy relationships, self-esteem, and sexual health. Knowledge is power—and it’s saving lives.

#CharityImpact #HIVEducation #YouthEmpowerment #EndHIV

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Reposted by Gareth Blindfish

Gavin Freeguard @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social · Aug 21

So, that civil service speaking ban...

What does the No 10 guidance actually say?

I decided to use a freedom of information request to find out.

Here's the response I got...

gavin-freeguard.medium.com/no-10-bans-c...

No 10 bans civil servants from speaking, bans us from seeing the guidance that bans civil servants…

In June, my friends at the Institute for Government reported the existence of ‘some unusual internal guidance’ that bans officials from…

gavin-freeguard.medium.com

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