Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 1d

Shower thought theory: the idea that you can take any shower thought, give it a short pet name, stick the word "theory" in the end, and people online will think and behave like it's serious theory.

Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 1d

There's also a "much needed cup of tea" when the exertion has been particularly taxing, and a "well deserved cup of tea" when taxing exertion has ended with a particularly positive outcome

Reposted by Lee Kenny

Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺 @katherineschof8.bsky.social · 1d

Mental ill health is frequently caused or exacerbated by entrenched workplace cultures of overwork and bullying.

Until all UK workplaces are forced to take their statutory workplace mental health & safety duties seriously, people with mental ill health will be unable to return to or remain in work.

Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Specialist employment advisers will be based in GP surgeries and mental health services as part of government plans to get people back to work.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden speaks to #BBCBreakfast about the government’s plan to tackle long-term sickness

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Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 1d

Out of the approximately 200 open job adverts I browsed yesterday, one of them was a viable job.

A few weeks ago I was told 'thank you for applying, *if* a job becomes available we will review your application".

The job market is fundamentally broken by a stagnant economy.

A Spooky Goose @anarchygoose.bsky.social · 1d

As someone who has been trying to move from one job to another basically all year, the issue is not that there are too many people NOT seeking work.

The issue is that all the jobs are scams because the economy is stagnant.

And it is stagnant because of wealth consolidation at the top.

Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Specialist employment advisers will be based in GP surgeries and mental health services as part of government plans to get people back to work.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden speaks to #BBCBreakfast about the government’s plan to tackle long-term sickness

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Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 1d

It's a shame that the current EHRC is hell bent on twisting the spirit of this legislation to fit their own beliefs.

Reposted by Lee Kenny

A Spooky Goose @anarchygoose.bsky.social · 1d

Hmmm yes what we need is to force more people to try and compete for the jobs where there's already a 2:1 ratio of unemployed people to vacancies.

Source on the second quote: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

ONS stats - Vacancies and jobs in the UK: September 2025. The estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell by 10,000 (1.4%) on the quarter to 728,000 in June to August 2025.

The UK unemployment rate was 4.7% and 1.67 million people aged 16+ were unemployed. Unemployment levels increased by around 194,000 over the last year, and the unemployment rate also increased.

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Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 1d

I don't have a cat,
But if I did, they would be
The best-est kitty

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 1d

Ew ew ew just for an ad for one of those AI assistants in which a woman asks it to write a haiku about her cat.

You can’t write a 3 line, 17 syllable poem about your cat?????

What is being alive for if not writing tiny little poems about your cat??!!

Add this to my joker file. Good lord.

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Tristan Grayford @tristangrayford.scot · 1d

As discord suffers a massive data breach of people's personal data and ID documents congrats to the UK Government for bringing in the undercooked law that made it absolutely inevitable this would happen, repeatedly

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 2d

Not to mention performing arts! The UK has some of the best talent in the world in film and TV. Not just actors but producers, lighting, ADs, makeup, costume, casting. High-end production companies come from around the world to make stuff here. Performing arts is a *massive industry for Britain*.

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 2d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Dr Holly Nielsen @hollynielsen.bsky.social · 2d

I love writing for games and getting to slip in little bits of historiography. In one storylet I’ve covered ambiguity in material culture, “truth” and “emotional truth”, and the need to research the everyday alongside the exceptional 🫡

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Tristan Grayford @tristangrayford.scot · 3d

The thing is - headlines like this *really* embolden actual antisemites. There will be active Scottish neo-Nazis reading this and thinking its giving them the all-clear to come out from the shadows and promote their hatred widely.

Lies for political purpose like this have dangerous consequences.

Greg Moodie @gregmoodie.bsky.social · 3d

You can always count on Mckenna to have the most bone-headed take on any subject.

Once again, it's not antisemitic to condemn the actions of the Israeli state.

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Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 3d

The obsession with objectivity over the past few decades is, in my opinion, one of the leading agents in the war on media literacy.

We need to learn to embrace ambiguity, arbitrariness, and above all subjectivity. These are at the heart of critical thought and media literacy.

Reposted by Lee Kenny

Dr. Jonathan N. Stea @jonathanstea.bsky.social · 3d

The first rule of conspiracy club:

Any evidence that refutes the conspiracy is part of the conspiracy.

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Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 4d

I genuinely don't know if I have another job application in me. Why are they so much work?

Why are they so long? Why do some places decide to use an AI chatbot instead of an application form? Why are some live job ads accepting applications for jobs that aren't currently available?

Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 4d

To pretend that there isn't very real, very harmful hatred directed towards Jewish people is frankly disgusting.

Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 4d

I despair to say this, since it shouldn't need to be said - antisemitism is a very real problem and one that any good progressive should oppose.

I know a lot of people are falsely labelling support for Gaza and Palestine in general as anti-Semitism when it isn't. But...

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 5d

I don't know where this revisionism has come from about the suffragettes - people saying "if the suffragettes were around today, they'd be considered terrorists."

The suffragettes were arrested and tortured, sexually assaulted and beaten by the state. They *were* considered terrorists!

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 5d

British politics is basically a doom spiral of increasingly unhinged hostile policies.

Reform says something unhinged
⬇️
Labour counters with their own unhinged policy
⬇️
Tories shout from back they'll be even more unhinged
⬇️
Reform announces different unhinged proposal in response
⬇️
And repeat...🔁

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

UnicornsRockUK @unicornsrockuk.bsky.social · 6d

This amazing article from @vic-parsons.bsky.social via @wearequeeraf.com shows the absolute criminal state of trans healthcare in the UK.

Scotland has a 224 year wait for a first appointment. Yes, you read that right.

www.wearequeeraf.com/gender-clini...

Latest waiting times for gender identity clinics in the UK

Revealed waiting times of all GICs in UK: Most Trans+ people in the UK will wait more than a third of their adult life to get an appointment, and some will never receive care

www.wearequeeraf.com

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana.bsky.social · 7d

You can protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and unequivocally condemn the antisemitic terror attack in Manchester.

Don’t let politicians or the media tell you that you can’t do both.

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Reposted by Lee Kenny

Tristan Grayford @tristangrayford.scot · 9d

I think criticising the fact that the statue of Dr Elsie Inglis was designed by a man in what seems like a bit of a stitch up after that man designed half the statues in Edinburgh is valid.

I don't think criticising it for not being "feminine" enough is. Women are allowed not to be feminine.

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Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 9d

We've got people like Charlie Kirk (glorified podcasters that feel emboldened to say horrific things as long as they pretend it's part of a "debate") in politics. We need *less* of them.

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Lee Kenny @leekenny.bsky.social · 9d

I just don't understand why ProQuest are hellbent on making their ebook platform worse in every way they can. It was perfectly fine the way it was. No, I don't want an AI "research assistant", I want the old, functional Ebook reader back.