Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 8d

"Every member of the joint force... is required to meet the height ... requirements twice a year"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvt...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rails against 'fat generals' and calls for physical fitness standards

YouTube video by NBC News

www.youtube.com

1 1 5

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 9

Yeeesh.

Richard J @preachypreach.bsky.social · Jul 9

youtu.be/7Qir4EEpawE?... nope still funny, particularly the interviewee’s reaction

"I will not accept that it's a highly dangerous road" (1988)

YouTube video by ITN Archive

youtu.be

14

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 9

Just answering questions.

1 5

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 9

Just answering questions.

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · Jul 9

Keir Starmer's spokesman asked if the Government plans to remain on X, given its AI bot has been making antisemitic comments and endorsing Hitler, replies that this is an "internal" matter for the company

1 9

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 9

Or ovens are just large airfryers.

Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson

Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · Jul 8

I have sent this email to my Director of Comms at KCL and would encourage others to do likewise.

I am writing to ask you to delete the official King’s account on X, or at least to stop posting there, and to instruct other official KCL accounts to do the same

“Grok” – which is the official X integrated AI/chat feature – is now directly praising Hitler and calling for Jews and others to be put in concentration camps. This is ,as widely reported, the direct result of its reprogramming by Elon Musk. In other words, it’s not that X has been largely overrun by far-right accounts – although that is also the case – this directly Nazi propaganda is coming directly from X itself/its senior management

There is absolutely no excuse or justification for us to have any presence there at all any more and we should stop

16 170 570

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Err...

David Leavitt @davidleavitt.bsky.social · Jul 8

Elon Musk’s AI Grok is praising Hitler

6 30

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

I'm afraid I can't do that, Nigel.

1

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

"degrade performance" is an interesting one.

1 11

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

9:35pm (which is definitely after 9:00pm).

Not much, apart from demand outstripping supply, and a bit less *shouty*. No information on what a tanker is or isn't, which is a little disappointing given the first post in this thread.

Going to be a fun morning on the Oxford Ring Road (the A40).

7

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Getting on for half past nine now, which according to my watch is after nine o'clock, so one wanders into the comments section of the Oxford Mail.

All very Flanders and Swann with thanks to bsky.app/profile/capt...

2 2 14

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

I mean, maybe it's a little pedantic, but when they say they'll provide an update on their progress no later than 9pm, and it's past 9pm, one does start to ask questions (it's 9:05pm, and it hasn't been updated).

1 7

Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson

Liam Thorp @liamthorp.bsky.social · Jul 8

The thing about Mamdani is that as well as having appealing policies, he’s actually just a very likeable guy. Comes across as very genuine and real but with charisma and the ability to communicate.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · Jul 8

Shooting our videos is a little bit different now.

6 13 120

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Anyway, I think I'll live blog this one. Next update at 9. Unless they decide that they've run out of words. Which if they do, I wouldn't blame them.

But at least they haven't had to incur capital expenditure. Might as well just wait for the infrastructure to fail. Better for the investors.

1 10

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Oh, and the Park and Ride has run out of water an hour earlier than advertised. So if you're on your walk there, tough. Maybe try to not drink or shower for the next few hours/days.

1 3

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

So, they've opened the Park and Ride to collect water. Queues half a mile long to get there. It's like the Living Dead, people with their six packs (of water alas) in preparation for the heatwave.

1 2

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Now they're dealing with a 600mm pipe (that's a big pipe) rather than the burst pipe. They're now dealing not only with OX3, but OX4 and OX33 too. Oh, and we're going to close half the lanes of the westbound A40.

1 3

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 8

Good old Thames Water. No water in Oxford yesterday. Burst pipe. So they repair it, and in so doing so, they damage a valve. And then another valve...

5 6 42

Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson

Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · Jul 8

Russian agents paid a group of UK criminals to set warehouses filled with supplies for Ukraine on fire

Their next mission was to kidnap a Putin critic and burn down his Michelin-starred restaurant, but their efforts to "move clean" failed and they were caught in time
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/w...

The Wild Russian Plot to Burn a London Restaurant and Kidnap Its Owner

www.nytimes.com

4 53 79

Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · Jul 7

I've obtained a trove of leaked documents about today's federal crackdown on Los Angeles' MacArthur Park. One revelation is its codename: "Operation Excalibur"

Exclusive: Operation Excalibur in Los Angeles “Show of Presence”

Leaks from military's LA deployment reveal Coca Cola vs. Pepsi rivalry, sweaty guardsmen, and abject failure

www.kenklippenstein.com

490 2.1K 5.9K

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 7

🧐

Anne Cronin @annecronin.bsky.social · Jul 7

SCOOP > The CDC has ended its bird flu emergency in the US. @jessicanix.bsky.social has more >
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Bird Flu Emergency Response Ends in US as Infections Decline

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its emergency response for bird flu as the outbreak that sickened dozens of people, spread to cattle and drove up egg prices has abated.

www.bloomberg.com

2 7 29

Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson

James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · Jul 7

Obviously Ken Livingstone has a… checkered… reputation but fucking hell this was a great speech.

youtu.be/vEBAVUCX0j4?...

Ken Livingstone's London 7/7 Response Speech 7th July 2005 (Original Video)

YouTube video by AsleepAtTheWheel

youtu.be

2 2 26

Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Jul 7

Interesting example of where policy intention does not translate to practice. Despite the ban on single use vapes, people are using reusable versions once and throwing away. FT found many shops don’t stock reusable cartridges at all
on.ft.com/3Gbz8vg

UK stores still stock throwaway vapes despite single-use ban

Government drive to cut waste and protect health being undermined by near-identical new products, experts warn

on.ft.com

1 5 16

Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson

Adam Rothman enjoys a good sandwich @adamrothman.bsky.social · Jul 6

Absolutely incredible graphic from 1880 tracing the history of political parties in the United States.

From Smithsonian description: "This ambitious chart presents U.S. political history on a single page. Moving from left to right, a timeline of parties, policies, persons, and events courses like a river through graphic space marked in four-year intervals. The analogy between politics and springs and rivulets (that jump and rejoin their banks) is the most conspicuous feature of the timeline. The parties appear in different colors. The ascendance of a party is gauged as its stream rises above the centerline, and above the streams of other parties. The thickness of a stream indicates the party’s strength.
The diagram is meant to dramatize U.S. political history in a more accessible shape for educators and to offer a ready reference for scholars, statisticians, and statesmen. The chart itself, titled “Diagram of the Rise and Fall of American Political Parties, from 1789 to 1880, inclusive,” is from the Conspectus of the History of Political Parties and the Federal Government, by Walter R. Houghton, 1880"

34 220 810

Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 6

Decked by the @financialtimes.com

Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · Jul 6

😬😬😬

2 5