Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 1h

#HeritageCrime News

Gavin Burnett, 43, and Darren Burnett, 50, were due to appear at Northampton Magistrates Court today, charged with the theft of Bronze Age artifacts stolen from St Fagans Museum, Cardiff on Monday, as well as other offences.

The objects remain missing.

Two men charged over gold artefacts stolen from Cardiff museum - BBC News

Jewellery from the Bronze Age collection held at the St Fagans Museum was taken in a break-in on Monday.

share.google

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 3h

The Museums Association has just approved and issued a restructured and updated Code of Ethics for its members.

What do you think of it?

Code of Ethics 2025 - Museums Association

The code provides a framework for the practical application of ethical considerations to our everyday work in museums

www.museumsassociation.org

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 4h

We list industrial infrastructure such as pottery and brick kilns, but Historic England refuses to get behind the listing of, even a representative example, of one of the most sculptural elements of our industrial past, cooling towers, which international experience shows can also be repurposed.

C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 4h

💥12 months ago Britain's last coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, shut down after 50 years powering the national grid. We can now confirm that C20's listing application for Ratcliffe's 8 cooling towers has been rejected by DCMS, while their demolition has been approved.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, Nottinghamshire - BDP, 1963-67
Image © David Noton

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 21h

"As Molly Ivins said of Pat Buchanan, it probably sounded better in the original German."

Robert Hutton with a brilliiant and pitch dark funny, demolition of "Honest Bob" Jenrick's turn at the Conservative Party Conference.

Rob whistle | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine

The day had begun with Robert Jenrick accused of racism. This is of course quite unfair. Racists believe in something. Some of us remember Jenrick as a chubby-cheeked fan of David Cameron fighting the...

thecritic.co.uk

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 21h

Leaked video from speech to Tech bosses at JP Morgan Tech Stars event appears to show Chancellor Rachel Reeves boasting of a "good relationship with the developer" as one of the rarest creatures in Britain "some snails on the site that are a protected species or something" could pay the price.

Rachel Reeves clears planning blockage amid ‘good relationship’ with developer

Exclusive: Chancellor says 20,000 homes were being held up due to ‘some snails that are a protected species or something’

www.theguardian.com

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 1d

#HeritageCrime News

Police attended the St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff in the early hours of Monday (6 October).

Det Insp Bob Chambers of South Wales Police said two suspects forced entry and Bronze Age artefacts, including gold objects, were stolen in a "targeted attack".

St Fagans: Bronze Age gold jewellery stolen from musuem

Police are investigating a burglary at St Fagans museum in the early hours of Monday morning.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 1d

#ShowUsYourWorking News

Greenwich Council officers claim the historic Woolwich Royal Artillery barracks can be converted for housing, but hosting the currently warehoused and more or less inaccessible, Borough archive, would not be appropriate because of err changes required to the listed building?

Woolwich Barracks could host 1,900 homes - but not Greenwich's archives - The Greenwich Wire

Greenwich Council has ruled out using Woolwich’s historic barracks building as a new home for the borough archives once the army moves out in 2028. Up to 1,920 homes could be built on the site – inclu...

greenwichwire.co.uk

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 2d

AIOoops!
"Deloitte Australia will issue a partial refund to the federal government after admitting that artificial intelligence had been used in the creation of a $440,000 report littered with errors including three nonexistent academic references and a made-up quote from a federal court judgement."

Deloitte to refund government, admits using AI in $440k report

Deloitte will issue a partial refund to the government after admitting that artificial intelligence had been used in the creation of a report littered with errors.

www.afr.com

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 3d

The Council for British Archaeology has released the shortlist for the #ArchaeologicalAchievementAwards 2025.

The winners, representing a cross section of the best in UK archaeology, will be announced at a ceremony on the 28th November (2025) which will also be streamed online.

Council for British Archaeology @archaeologyuk.bsky.social · 4d

We are thrilled to reveal the shortlist for the #ArchaeologicalAchievementAwards 2025. 🎉

Every shortlisted project demonstrates how archaeology connects people and places, and how it can spark fresh ideas about our shared past and future.

Congratulations to all shortlisted! 👉 shorturl.at/DbaPk

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 3d

"Some of those falling for far-right arguments are in our workplaces. We must spend more time talking to them and less time talking to each other
in safe spaces. The clock’s ticking."

Socialist historian David Rosenberg on the Battle of Cable Street of 4 October 1936 and its lessons for today.

Battles on the streets and beyond

I CAN’T recall when I first heard of “Cable Street” but as a child I remember my grandfather, Syd, formerly an East End amateur boxer, boasting about “Blackshirts” he had floored.By my teens, when I f...

morningstaronline.co.uk

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

Does for AI Anime what JD Vance did for sofas (allegedly).

An image of AI generated character Tilly Norwood from an article with the headline claiming the animation is the author's favourite "actress".

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

Soon to be told with the location of the prison changed to the United States...

Jay Nordlinger @jaynordlinger.bsky.social · 5d

There is a joke told in Turkey. A prisoner goes to the prison library to ask for a particular book. The librarian says, "We don't have the book -- but we have its author."

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

This latest attempt by Silicon Valley Tech Bros (and it is almost entirely Bros) to convince us their AI lashups of stolen intellectual property and digital code are the equivilent of, or even superior to, human contact, talent and creativity, undermine humanity and are deeply dangerous.
Discuss.

Bloomberg Opinion @opinion.bloomberg.com · 5d

Tilly Norwood raises the question of who will be the first to win an Oscar for best AI in a leading role

Tilly Norwood Is Expensive, Even for Hollywood

The “synthetic actress” may be cheaper to cast than Leonardo DiCaprio, but AI’s footprint carries major economic and environmental costs.

bloom.bg

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

This development begs a lot of questions and not just over the way heritage aspects have been treated.

I would also be interested in seeing the developers working when their agent claims retrofit of the existing buildings is not economically viable.

Was there any independent assessment of this?

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

"There were the works of Graham Hancock, who claims the archaeological establishment is hiding the fact that ultra-intelligent aliens built the pyramids."

Left leaning, Reform UK voting Eddie quoted in a sensitive and illuminating essay on the appeal of Reform in Nottinghamshire by Sacha Hilhorst.

Reform’s aesthetics of industry

Renewal 33.2_HilhorstRenewal 33.2_Hilhorst.pdf110 KBdownload-circle In North Nottinghamshire, Reform UK present themselves as the party of workers, community and coalmining heritage. But this image...

renewal.org.uk

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

#RetrofitFirst Not: News

"This isn't regeneration, this is obliteration,"

Burt McNeil, Chair, Leicester Civic Society.

The CBA is one of the groups to protest after facadism and (quellle suprise) 18 story towers are set to replace historic Leicester textile factory.

Leicester Corah factory demolition approved despite heritage loss

Concerns are raised about the loss of historic buildings as part of a large regeneration scheme.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

#AITechCosTooBigToRegulate News

"How do we get ahead of a freight train that is just evermore accelerating and racing down the tracks, in danger of careening off the tracks?"

An article in Science claims that is an AI freight train, which seems happy to turn out DNA designs for lethal toxins.

AI designs for dangerous DNA can slip past biosecurity measures, study shows

Companies that make DNA for science labs screen out any requests for dangerous bits of genetic material. But a new study shows how AI could help malevolent actors get the stuff anyway.

www.npr.org

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 5d

Not as lucrative as Ancient Aliens theory or the Hancock soggy civilisation grift, but theories around Amelia Earhart's disappearance have proved enduring and entertaining. A new expedition is set to investigate, but Ric Gillespie of TIGHAR, who has long punted the Nikumaroro theory, is sceptical.

Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane likely located in lagoon, expedition team claims, citing "very strong" evidence

Researchers say they believe an object in a South Pacific island's lagoon is the wreck of Amelia Earhart's lost plane.

www.cbsnews.com

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 6d

Another insight into how Trump world views heritage as Dr. Todd Arrington resigns as director, the federal Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, “in lieu of firing,” after refusing to allow the White House to take a sword from its collection as a gift for Trump to offer King Charles.

EXCLUSIVE: NARA Ousts Eisenhower Library Director Over Proposed Trump Gift to King Charles

The director, a historian and Army veteran, declined to allow the Trump administration to remove a priceless artifact from the library's permanent collection

lastcampaign.substack.com

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Reposted by Andy Brockman

Lorna Richardson @lornarichardson.bsky.social · 6d

We were just finishing Yom Kippur morning service when our rabbi announced this had just happened. We’d been reflecting on the atrocities in Gaza & praying for peace. Our tiny community is horrified & heartbroken

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live...

Two dead after suspected terror attack on Manchester synagogue, police say, with suspect shot by officers – latest

Keir Starmer will fly home early from Europe to chair a Cobra meeting, while Greater Manchester mayor tells people to avoid the area

www.theguardian.com

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 6d

Q: When is PPE Medpro not PPE Medpro?

A: When it is an identically named company domiciled in the Isle of Man.

Tax expert Dan Neidle on why Douglas Barrowman and Michelle Mone's company(s) could have been set up that way and how the arrangement could help GOVUK recover that 122 million quid.

Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 6d

Douglas Barrowman and Michelle Mone's company, PPE Medpro, has just been ordered to refund the Government £122m from a PPE contract.

There are two very odd things about PPE Medpro that may affect the odds of the Government ever getting that £122m...

Thread:

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 6d

"...if it is possible to edit stories, experiences, people, and whole groups out of the past, it becomes that much easier to edit or erase them from the present or even the future.”

Chandra Manning of Citizen Historians on the need to record historical interpretations at risk from Trump's censors.

Documenting the History Trump Wants to Erase

Librarians, historians, and volunteers are forming networks to chronicle signs and objects they fear could disappear from museums and national parks.

hyperallergic.com

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 6d

The obvious problem with the statement from the President of the Royal Society about Elon Musk is what would the prestigious body do if, hypothetically, a Fellow is revealed as a racist, Fascist adjacent, would be eugenicist, calling for violence on the streets to oppose an elected Government?

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 6d

In a statement unlikely to satisfy critics R S President criticises Elon Musk but says it is "...not the role of the Royal Society to police the personal political opinions of individual Fellows and disciplinary procedures should not be initiated because of a Fellow’s social and political views."

The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 6d

"I am increasingly concerned over threats to the values that allow science to flourish." Read the full statement from the President of the Royal Society Sir Adrian Smith: royalsociety.org/news/2025/10...

A statement from the President of the Royal Society | Royal Society

A statement from the President of the Royal Society regarding threats to the values that allow science to flourish.

royalsociety.org

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 7d

British Academy highly critical of GOVUK plan to offer grants to students on priority courses funded by levy on international students, stating it "...risks deepening the funding crisis impacting universities across the UK and may further entrench educational inequalities."

British Academy responds to government announcement on university maintenance grants

The British Academy has issued a response to the government's announcement on using a proposed levy on international students to fund maintenance grants.

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

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