Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 3d

An astronaut, looking at the Earth: “Wait, it’s all social care obligations?”
Behind them, another astronaut, drawing a gun to shoot them in the back: “Always has been.”

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Andrew Burchell @andrewburchell.bsky.social · 2d

For reference, none of them are kvinnor I would particularly care to träffa. Either in the närheten or even more fjärr.

Andrew Burchell @andrewburchell.bsky.social · 2d

Also, not the point here of course, but this picture of EB looks eerily like the AI-generated slop I see on websites promising that I can "träffa kvinnor i närheten..."

Marcus @marcuslofstrom.bsky.social · 3d

Förutom en liiiiten råvara, nästan helt oviktig i sammanhanget.

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Andrew Burchell @andrewburchell.bsky.social · 2d

You think he's joking, but some of us remember the *other place*.

Gareth Millward @millieqed.bsky.social · 2d

Falling vaccination rates coming back into the news, is it?

The shameless plugs will cease when the MMR vaccination rate is back over 95%.

bit.ly/2RUPYUN

Book cover for Gareth Millward, Vaccinating Britain (Manchester University Press, 2017). The image is of a syringe and a 1950s vial of vaccine.

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

The Bear @bearlypolitics.co.uk · 3d

As Argentina’s economy starts to rapidly unravel, let’s never forget the comments by our own politicians.

Ta.

"It's Thatcherism on steroids - this is incredible, cutting and slashing public expenditure, doing all the things he's done….. That's leadership... He is amazing."
Nigel Farage
"[Milei] is the 'chainsaw-wielding, bushy-sideburned wild man of Hayekian free-market thinking'. He hailed Milei for giving Argentina 'the economic medicine it needs' through drastic spending cuts."
Boris Johnson
"Britain needs shock therapy. A Milei-style approach would mean radical surgery. First: stop the bleeding. Slash wasteful public spending. Shut down unproductive agencies and quangos... We need to aim for a primary
[surplus."
Jacob Rees-Mogg
"Milei is the template."
Kemi Badenoch
"Javier Milei rightly tells the elite [at the] awful WEF the facts of life - socialism and state intervention tends to make people poorer."
Richard Tice

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Nigella Lawson @nigella.bsky.social · 4d

It’s Kanelbullens Dag, that’s to say, Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden. And while I mean no disrespect to Norway and Iceland, who also mark this day, it’s Swedish Cinnamon Buns that are #RecipeOfTheDay!
www.nigella.com/recipes/swed...

Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Swedish Cinnamon Buns are not radically different from other cinnamon buns (and do see my Norwegian Cinnamon Buns), but they do diverge in one fundamental way: rather than having the fluffiness of, sa...

www.nigella.com

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Andrew Burchell @andrewburchell.bsky.social · 5d

And not forgetting the divinely funny "Kitty" monologues, written by the (equally much missed) Victoria Wood! (Plus multiple, superb Alan Bennett monologues: A Woman of No Importance, Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet...)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-iD...

Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 5d

Inevitable I suppose that the headlines reporting the sad news of Patricia Routledge's death describe her as "Keeping Up Appearances star". For me she will always be Kitty from Victoria Wood On TV, and Mrs Schofield in Alan Bennett's precursor to Talking Heads, A Woman Of No Importance. A sad loss.

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Andrew Burchell @andrewburchell.bsky.social · 6d

I don't know... I can see my parents doing this.

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Andy Brown @andybrown1951.bsky.social · 6d

It can't be said too often. Collective punishment is wrong. Attacking innocent Jewish people because of Netanyahu's actions is wrong. Killing people in Gaza and the West Bank in order to steal their land is also wrong.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cx...

Manchester synagogue: Four people injured in car and stabbing attack in Crumpsall

Mayor Andy Burnham says the suspect is believed to be dead. Keir Starmer says the attack happening on Yom Kippur - the holiest day in the Jewish calendar - makes it

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Ólafur Waage @olafurw.com · 10d

Swedish IKEA Names.

www.youtube.com/shorts/xdsvW...

Swedish IKEA Names #nordic #funny #sweden #language

YouTube video by Ólafur Waage

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 12d

Just baffling to see people whose profiles suggest an awareness of politics & social issues exposing themselves as completely unable to understand a basic point like this.

Nick Harkaway @nickharkaway.com · 12d

In the first place, ID cards *right now* are being proposed as a measure against illegal immigration. That means they will definitionally be intended to lock down services, not facilitate access.

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Voices of Motherhood @voicesofmotherhood.bsky.social · 15d

We're pleased to share this call for papers for our upcoming conference!

📍Online via Zoom
🗓️Thursday 5 - Friday 6 February 2026
⏱️Abstract deadline Saturday 1 November 2025

See our website for full details 👇

voicesofmotherhood.wp.worc.ac.uk/index.php/news-and-resources/updates-from-the-project

The Politics of Motherhood: Maternalism, Maternity and Mothering.

Thursday 5 and Friday 6 February 2026, Online Conference.

Ruth Davidson, Anna Muggeridge, Eve Pennington and Beckie Rutherford.

Keynote address by Dr Sarah Crook, Swansea University: ‘Cradles of Discontent: Motherhood as a pathway to activism in modern Britain’.

This conference is supported by a UKRI Future Leaders’ Fellowship ‘Voices of Motherhood’ Project reference MR/Y018184/1 and the University of Worcester.

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 15d

the most important thing to remember when you see eugenicists who don’t believe that autistic people should exist rambling about “the autism epidemic” is not that they’re wrong about the “cause” (although they are absolutely wrong about it); it’s that they are eugenicists

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

rainbowmigration.bsky.social @rainbowmigration.bsky.social · 16d

Happy #BisexualVisibilityDay! 🩷💜💙

This year, we spoke to one of our Legal Officers about the unique issues bisexual people seeking asylum in the UK encounter.

💻️Read the full blog now via the link in our bio: buff.ly/H5KDx0w

Photo of 2 people holding hands in front of a bisexual flag, with a blue-pink gradient overlay and white text reading "Happy Bisexual Visibility Day! Read our latest blog to learn about the challenges faced by bisexual people seeking asylum in the UK."

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 16d

There should be a high bar for politicians attacking the media, but maybe Ed Davey has half a point here?

For example, the first three paragraphs of this BBC story repeat Reform's £243bn figure without saying that the thinktank behind the estimate now disowns it. (This is mentioned in paragraph 35)

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Lesley A Hall @erinacean.bsky.social · 26d

As someone who was not a professional academic (fulltime employed as archivist) and did 'hobbyist research' (with some support from employer e.g. research leave): the resulting books got published by scholarly presses, articles passed peer review: and my work is still cited.

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 27d

'"You can’t have hobbyist research that’s unfunded going on in institutions. We can’t afford it.”'

Such a badly formulated phrasing of the issues, so open to so many misinterpretations. If this is the level of thinking about research among sector leaders and policy-makers, be very afraid.

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 27d

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ .

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 27d

'"You can’t have hobbyist research that’s unfunded going on in institutions. We can’t afford it.”'

Such a badly formulated phrasing of the issues, so open to so many misinterpretations. If this is the level of thinking about research among sector leaders and policy-makers, be very afraid.

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 27d

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ .

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ - Research Professional News

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Claire L Jones @claireljones.bsky.social · 27d

Yes exactly. Universities can't afford research but they can spend millions on consultants, who give them the same stock solutions they've given everyone else

Richard Carr @richardcarr.bsky.social · 27d

Ban consultancy spend by universities then. Seriously. It’s the same spreadsheets recycled and the same downward spiral diagnosis every time. And costs hundreds of millions across the sector.

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 27d

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ .

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Laurence Totelin @ltotelin.bsky.social · 27d

Problematic (to put it kindly) on so many levels.
1) there isn't really 'unfunded' research. The REF is there to allocate resources so that research is possible without a grant.

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 27d

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ .

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ - Research Professional News

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · 28d

The MSNBC commentator saying that most political violence has historically come from the left just once again showed how we suffer from failing to learn history. Lynching, pogroms, race riots, the political violence that ended Reconstruction, and against the Civil Rights Movement. Come on.

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Andrew Burchell @andrewburchell.bsky.social · 29d

A great opportunity, in a great place, with great people (and Gareth).

Gareth Millward @millieqed.bsky.social · 29d

If you (or people you know) are interested in applying for a Marie Curie postdoc in 2026, my research centre is offering three-week research fellowships for you to come here and develop your ideas.

More details are on our website - or get in touch with me.

🗃️

www.sdu.dk/en/om-sdu/in...

Calls and open positions

www.sdu.dk

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Ian Moody @ianmoody.bsky.social · Sep 8

Supertramp singer and co-writer Rick Davies dies at 81.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rick Davies: Supertramp singer and co-writer dies at 81

He was behind some of the band's best-known hits including Bloody Well Right and Goodbye Stranger.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Gareth Millward @millieqed.bsky.social · Aug 26

I would rather promote the @eahmh.bsky.social account than pay attention in the EAHMH board meeting... so here it is.

The conference begins this evening. Feel free to follow/use/mute the #EAHMH25 tag.

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Reposted by Andrew Burchell

Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · Aug 26

Consider how sordid and squalid it is, to take people fleeing the hellhole that 20 years of vainglorious, stupid Western intervention created - people literally fleeing from our worst, most ruthlessly wicked enemies, that we failed to keep them safe from - and make those refugees into "invaders".

Tom Lawton @lawtontri.bsky.social · Aug 26

In the deeply uncomfortable #R4Today Reform Immigration interview today the claim that Afghan refugees are often "men of fighting age" who are "landing on the beaches" was repeatedly being made.

Am I missing a point or is this just dog-whistling a WWII-style "invasion" story?

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