Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 8

Idea: Trojan Horse your grant applications. In the grant mention something about mining asteroids for gold, or how you will be dissecting a live immigrant to prove they are evil, or whatever else aligns with the views of a manchild-dictator.

Peter Lipman @peterlipman.bsky.social · Aug 8

New executive order puts all grants under political control arstechnica.com/science/2025...

New executive order puts all grants under political control

All new funding on hold until Trump administration can cancel any previously funded grants.

arstechnica.com

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Reposted by Matt Tutt

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · Aug 8

Rupert Lowe's X post mistaking charity rowers for asylum seekers sparked a large number of angry responses on X, including several calls for violence against the asylum seekers
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Rupert Lowe mistakes charity rowers for illegal migrants

The independent MP alerted the coastguard about a small boat off Great Yarmouth, which was crewed by a team of four including a former Royal Marine

www.thetimes.com

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 8

Maybe - I think it's more about not overloading the tree. They'll drop a lot of fruit naturally so you might be ok. I have a lot of apple trees and never bother thinning and always have a decent crop. No idea about flavour impact etc 🤷‍♂️

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 8

Looks a bit late to me - doesn't seem to be an issue though? (is your fear the branches can't support the weight?)

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Reposted by Matt Tutt

Robin Wilton 🇱🇧 @komadori.bsky.social · Aug 8

For Lowe to try and virtue-wash this as "being vigilant for his constituents" is despicable. He's wasted police and coastguard time and resources, and stirred up alarm and anger by broadcasting baseless nonsense via social media. That's not serving his constituents.

Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · Aug 8

MP mistakes charity rowers for "illegal migrants" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rupert Lowe mistakes charity rowers for 'illegal migrants'

Rupert Lowe says he will donate £1,000 to charity but makes

www.bbc.co.uk

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

A short paper worth reading - What's Left of Responsible Innovation After Gaza? Ecocide, Epistemicide, and Genocide in Occupied Palestine by Mario Pansera.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Reposted by Matt Tutt

The Onion @theonion.com · Aug 7

Sleeping Man Flanked By Laptop, Phone, Earbuds Like Egyptian Pharaoh Buried With All His Treasures

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Reposted by Matt Tutt

Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · Aug 4

The full list of all 18,500 children killed in Gaza, in video form.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

Oh no - no evidence of that with IONOS (tbh haven't looked into it properly though).

Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

Oh just terrible service / expensive for what you get.

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

For me it's showing as updated today - so am wondering if this was indeed the cause.

Also - if they're using IONOS as a host - they should move away sharpish 😬

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

If anyone needs to access the old site, here's a backup:

web.archive.org/web/20250711...

Home - Defend Our Juries

Jurors have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience Juries put the moral intuition of ordinary people into the heart of the criminal justice system. Over the last few yea...

web.archive.org

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

Public reminder that the Wayback Machine is handy in times like these:

web.archive.org/web/20250711...

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

Not sure if mentioned in the piece but also seems to run this diving/fishing company - www.tazexcursions.com

Home | Taz's Excursions

www.tazexcursions.com

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Reposted by Matt Tutt

Anna Orridge @anna-orridge.bsky.social · Aug 7

Disgusting people. I hope they're all dragged to the Hague.

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · Aug 7

TEAM LEADER AT GAZA AID DISTRIBUTION SITES BELONGS TO ANTI-“JIHAD” MOTORCYCLE CLUB, HAS CRUSADER TATTOOS

Johnny “Taz” Mulford, who works for a security contractor in Gaza, has tattoos of Crusader-style crosses that have been co-opted by the far right.

theintercept.com/2025/08/06/g...

Team Leader at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Belongs to Anti-“Jihad” Motorcycle Club, Has Crusader Tattoos

Johnny Mulford, who works as a contractor for GHF in Gaza, is a member of the “Infidels” motorcycle gang and has Crusader-style cross tattoos.

theintercept.com

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

Been doing an audit of the kinds of clients I've been working with over the past few years, and couldn't help but notice that they're all fairly short (I reckon 5 ft 5" or less).

Couldn't figure out why - and then it dawned on me!!

Meet Matt - a freelance SEO & PPC consultant for small business owners

Reposted by Matt Tutt

Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · Aug 7

PS: You may have read this story already. The BBC ran a version of it yesterday

We shared our FOI docs with their reporter and press office.
Their response? To publish the story - our story - without even notifying us.

A £6bn public broadcaster selling out a tiny investigative newsletter. Nice. 😔

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Reposted by Matt Tutt

Disappointed Optimist @disappoptimism.bsky.social · Aug 7

As much as it pains me:

If this law annoys big tech enough to flex its political muscle; then I’m behind it even more so.

Time to draw the line on big tech

Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · Aug 7

Out in the open: the US administration’s attempt to undermine the EU Digital Services Act (and other regulations) was evident.

Now it has been elevated to formal policy and goal of diplomatic efforts.

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Exclusive: Rubio orders US diplomats to launch lobbying blitz against Europe's tech law

President Donald Trump's administration has instructed U.S. diplomats in Europe to launch a lobbying campaign to build an opposition to the European Union's Digital Services Act, which Washington says stifles free speech and imposes costs on U.S. tech companies, an internal diplomatic cable seen by Reuters showed.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by Matt Tutt

lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · Aug 7

Marx with glowing eyes etc

J̴͔͈̫̰́L̷̳͇̩͓̈́̀̋͜N̵̫̪̠̖͙̈́̍͛_̶̨̻̲̠̹̓̇͠Ć̵̨̥͍̇͗̈́H̸͉̀̇́R̶̥͍͑̏͑̅̓ @jlnchr.bsky.social · Aug 7

Cette dichotomie va devenir de plus en plus problématique à mesure que l'automatisation va continuer à tuer l'emploi, et ça sera toujours de notre faute.

New York Post
@nypost
Las Vegas tourism is sinking - and younger Americans could be to blame

microplastics accumulator
@DiabolicalSpuds
The grand contradiction of America is that they need us to keep consuming but they also do not want to pay us. They will shame you for not spending enough while simultaneously not paying you enough to spend.

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 7

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

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Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 6

Idea - we implement the Truman Show on Trump. Make him pretend he is still in the real world. It's all just a fiction though. As a bonus we can all tune in on some secret website and continue to watch his madness unfurl.

NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · Aug 5

This is real I shit you not

Matt Tutt @matttutt.me · Aug 6

I am *quite* surprised at the number of alternative, radical-thinking people and movements which have happily made use of Substack as their web platform of choice.

(FWIW - I'd go for Ghost if I had to recommend an alternative).

Stewart Home @stewarthome.bsky.social · Aug 5

This isn’t about Substack “supporting free speech”—it’s about Substack’s own editorial speech & what it’s choosing to say. They’re not just saying “Nazis welcome.” They’re saying “we think other people will like Nazi content too.” www.techdirt.com/2025/08/04/s...

Substack’s Algorithm Accidentally Reveals What We Already Knew: It’s The Nazi Bar Now

Back in April 2023, when Substack CEO Chris Best refused to answer basic questions about whether his platform would allow racist content, I noted that his evasiveness was essentially hanging out a …

www.techdirt.com

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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · Aug 6

I think it really should be emphasised that what happened here is a tall woman approached a 14 year old to ask if she needed help, and the mother, not the girl, freaked out and is now calling for a ban on trans people being allowed to work with kids.

Patrick Ness @patricknessbooks.bsky.social · Aug 6

The employee asked the girl and her mother if they needed help shopping. That’s it. That’s all. The misinformation, the insinuations (because the facts are inconveniently benign) are EXACTLY what was done to lesbians in the 80s. This is the product of hate and fear, not reality.

JK Rowling tweeting got a boycott of M&S, stretching facts to the breaking point, and making the world a worse place for absolutely everyone.

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