Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Greg Pak @gregpak.net · Aug 13

"Yes, the killing happens now, but there'll be plenty of time later to write very moving stories about the shape and shade of the bones."

The precision of this. My god.

Photo of a page from Omar El Akkad's ONE DAY EVERYONE WILL ALWAYS HAVE BEEN AGAINST THIS that reads:

Some of the least established writers I know, the ones who have to work all manner of side jobs just to make ends meet, are actively putting their literary careers at risk by calling for an end to the wholesale murder of a people. Meanwhile, so many of the most established writers are either totally silent or engaged in the tritest finger-wagging about just how terrible it would be for the art if we get too shrill about this sort of thing. Yes, the killing happens now, but there'll be plenty of time later to write very moving stories about the shape and shade of the bones.

3 83 300

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Asher Langton @asherlangton.bsky.social · Jul 25

Silicon Valley is lighting hundreds of billions of dollars on fire to generate this slop.

facebook
+
• Meta Al
Why plastic sheeting?
The plastic sheeting in the interview room is likely there to protect against potential mess or damage, but given the context of Ghislaine Maxwell's situation, it's probably a humorous exaggeration implying she's a bit of a "mess" herself. The Onion's satire often uses absurdity to make a point.

90 680 3.9K

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jul 3

🚨Minister Givan has appointed me to a panel to review aspects of Northern Ireland's school funding model. I worked on the last major review (way back in 2012-13) & have published on effects of different models, so looking forward to it!
🔗 www.education-ni.gov.uk/news/indepen...
#edusky #speirgorm

Independent Panel to review Baseline School Funding announced

Education Minister Paul Givan has announced the independent panel to undertake the Review of Baseline School Funding Provided Through the Common Funding Formula (CFF).

www.education-ni.gov.uk

2

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jul 2

I'm not generally a big fan of the clergy but Brother Kevin will be greatly missed. The incredible work of the Capuchin Day Centre in providing meals and supports to those in need is quite a legacy. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
#RIPBrKevin #SpeirGorm

The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · Jul 2

Br Kevin Crowley of Capuchin Day Centre dies aged 90

Corkman set up the centre on Bow Street, Dublin in 1969

www.irishtimes.com

1 7

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jul 1

Another @irishtimes.com article flogging the services of private schools. Research shows NO academic "added-value" from them. Want your child to succeed? Read & talk to them as much as possible, as young as possible. Be a parent, not an investor. #SpeirGorm #edusky
www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2...

School fees: how to save €50,000 to pay for children’s school or college costs

When should you start saving? ‘When a child is born’

www.irishtimes.com

1 1 10

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 16

... 2/2
Ysandre & Saidhbhin, both in second level:
museumofchildhood.ie/b-s-is-my-na...
museumofchildhood.ie/not-just-col...

All 10 fabulous finalists listed below, & will be published in the next few weeks. Well done to all our writers.
museumofchildhood.ie/bloomsday-20...
We'll be in touch.

Sarjena – The Museum of Childhood Ireland

Músaem Óige na hÉireann

museumofchildhood.ie

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 16

Thrilled to announce the 10 finalists in @museumofchildhood.bsky.social #Bloomsday young writer competition.

Caterina's entry was the judges' fav:
museumofchildhood.ie/sarjena/
And she's still in primary school! Wow.

She just pipped ... 1/2

1 1

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 15

Mykonos & Santorini are equally awful. I know Naxos is not like it used to be but still lovely compared to the gruesome twosome. Rural Crete still offers a real escape from crowds.

1 1

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 15

😂Fair point.

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 15

Santorini is the Temple Bar of Greece. A cultural and ecological dead zone. Some of the nearby Cyclades like Syros and Naxos place much more value on local products, local farm traditions, with at least some awareness of the environment.

2 1

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 14

Apparently coordinated political assassinations at this early stage in Trump’s dismantling of democracy is beyond my worst imaginings. Just awful.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Jun 14

Walz announces that Rep. Melissa Hortman is dead as a result of a "politically motivated assassination"

2

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 11

Rare to write about bloomers, cycling, sexism & State Exams in one article! Blog on the almost total absence of teen girls cycling to school, why it matters & what we must do.
🔗 museumofchildhood.ie/where-are-th...
#cycling #school #SpeirGorm
@dublincycling.bsky.social @roisiningle.bsky.social

Image shows a young Victorian woman wearing a form of bloomers, being gleefully pushed on her bike by female friends, dressed in more conservative clothes

2 6

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Josiah Mortimer @josiah.writes.news · Jun 11

"Barbara Santini is a psychologist who has been quoted hundreds of times in news publications around the world - including the Telegraph, BBC and Independent - and who, I can now state with certainty, does not exist."
pressgazette.co.uk/news/fake-ex...

Journalists are adding extra checks to keep ahead of the fake experts

Fake experts and SEO: How journalists must adopt new checks to keep one step ahead of AI-generated responses provided by fake experts.

pressgazette.co.uk

8 160 320

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 11

Rare to write about bloomers, cycling, sexism & State Exams in one article! Blog on the almost total absence of teen girls cycling to school, why it matters & what we must do.
🔗 museumofchildhood.ie/where-are-th...
#cycling #school #SpeirGorm
@dublincycling.bsky.social @roisiningle.bsky.social

2 6

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · Jun 10

Today I asked AI to summarise an academic paper. The actual results were the opposite to what was hypothesised (and to what others had shown). The AI summary assumed the study had found what everyone else had found. Hot tip: don’t use a stochastic parrot to summarise an outlier paper. #academicsky 🧪

10 88 300

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 8

The Irish summer is a no-show, so channeling a bit of Greece to cheer me up. Homemade Freddo Espresso, the coffee of the Gods! Not a bad effort for an ιρλανδέζα but it doesn’t taste the same in the rain.☔️ ☹️

1

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 5

Our @museumofchildhood.bsky.social blog for #Bloomsday!
A chance encounter with a Joyce book in a dusty Indian library changed Jinan Ashraf's life forever. Her journey from Kerala to @nlireland.bsky.social @dculibrary.bsky.social
#JamesJoyce #BooksChangeLives
museumofchildhood.ie/reading-joyce/

2 3

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 4

2/2
👩‍⚖️Our fab judges are now reading entries the 10 finalists.

🪧Results TBA on Bloomsday.

👏To all who entered, with so many brilliant entries, you really made us work hard. Please keep writing.

kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .

ALT: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .

media.tenor.com

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · Jun 4

1/2
A busy Education team in @museumofchildhood.bsky.social. After prelim scoring, we had an *8-way* tie for the last place to get through to the final round of our Bloomsday Writing Competition! Cue a second round of ratings. We are wrecked!😅
#Joyce #Writing #YoungAuthor #Bloomsday

1 1

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Dónal Hassett @donalh.bsky.social · May 28

Heartbreaking piece from Palestinian writer and translator Alaa Alqaisi.
We screamed through every outlet we had — in Arabic and English, in poems and press releases, in death tolls and testimonies... And we got the answer. We got it loud and clear.

arablit.org/2025/05/23/w...

We Knocked Until Our Hands Broke

Gaza-based Palestinian author Alaa Alqaisi asks herself the question posed more than half a century ago at the end of Ghassan Kanafani’s “Men in the Sun”: Why didn’t they knock on…

arablit.org

38 60

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Sarah Webb @sarahwebbwriter.bsky.social · May 6

Some amazing new Irish children's books out in May for all ages.

Thanks to @bexsheridan.bsky.social for creating the @irishkidsbooks.bsky.social posters.

Please do share this post and let everyone know about these brilliant new books. Together let's help children #discoveririshkidsbooks

Book covers - May new titles for age 3/4+

Book covers - Irish children's books for age 8+ out in May.

6 8

Reposted by Eemer Eivers

Halfway up the Stairs @halfwayupbooks.bsky.social · May 22

1/ Thrilled that the new Milly McCarthy has landed - she’s off to the Gaeltacht - a rite of passage for many!! You can order Milly McCarthy’s Wild Atlantic Antics at halfwayupthestairs.ie/product/9781... or pick up a copy in store! @leonaforde1.bsky.social
@sarahwebbwriter.bsky.social

1 2 6

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · May 23

😂

1

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · May 22

Finally sharing pics of @childrensbooksireland.ie Reading for Joy Forum. It highlighted some good work in Ireland to support reading. ANNDD I'd a keynote on the Reading Communities evaluation (great to get a physical copy of the report!). Between MOLI, enthusiastic readers & sunshine, a great day!

3

Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · May 20

Fair points about non-attendance. The simplest way to improve attendance is to reduce massive illness rates. Since 2020, most countries have shown large increases in missed days in school/work, from kids & adults. Surveys won’t fix it, but cleaner air just might. #edusky #SpeirGorm

Clean Air Advocacy Ireland @cleanairie.bsky.social · May 20

"We have the tools to reduce the number of infections in schools, but we are simply not using them properly, or at all."

We have issued this press release in response to the "highly alarming" school absence figures (from 2022-23) released yesterday by the Minister for Education.

Page one of the press release reads as follows:

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ISSUED 19/5/2025
by CLEAN AIR ADVOCACY IRELAND
~ BEGINS ~
Clean Air in Schools could boost Attendance
● Illness is the leading cause of School Absence in Ireland
● Fall in Attendance Shows Need for Urgent Action on Clean Air in
Schools
The recent School Attendance report from Tusla shows a dramatic increase in school
absence, and is an urgent warning sign which should not be ignored by the Department of
Education. The high level of absenteeism is being driven by illness, and this should trigger
immediate action to improve indoor air quality in schools to reduce the spread of common
airborne infections such as flu, RSV, and Covid-19.
Illness consistently accounts for around 60% of absences in schools, and that remains the
case in the latest report for the 2022/23 school year, with illness accounting for 61% of
known absences from Primary Schools and 59% of known absences from Secondary
Schools.
In the 2022/23 school year, absences from Primary Schools were 46% higher than the
18-year average from 2003 to 2019. Absences of longer than 20 days are 128% higher than
the same 18-year average in Primary Schools, and 43% higher in Post-Primary Schools.
Clean Air Advocacy Ireland is calling on the Department of Education to implement
guidelines for schools to manage the air quality in indoor spaces such as classrooms,
canteens, staff rooms, and toilets. Improving indoor air quality through monitoring, ventilation
and filtration has been shown to effectively reduce the transmission of common airborne

Page 2 of the press release reads as follows:

...illnesses. We have the tools to minimise airborne pathogens and reduce the number of
infections, through mechanical ventilation and air filtration, but we are simply not using them
properly, or at all.
There is also existing legislation in Ireland which governs indoor air quality in workplaces,
and schools are places of work for teachers, assistants, and other support staff. Employers,
including school boards, have a legal obligation to monitor indoor air quality and to
implement changes where the air quality is below acceptable levels.
Kieran Ryan, a member of Clean Air Advocacy Ireland, says the Tusla school attendance
report indicates that something is going badly wrong in terms of sickness levels in Irish
schools.
“If we’re talking about increased absences in schools then we need to address the elephant
in the room, which is an overall increase in illness at a population level. As well as common
illnesses such as RSV and seasonal flu, Covid-19 has now added to the burden of illness
faced by students, parents, and teachers.”
“We know that many of these illnesses are spread via airborne transmission, so when
children are packed into poorly-ventilated classrooms sickness spreads like wildfire. Infected
children then bring the illness back to their own homes, and this seeds the further spread of
illness within the community. If we can reduce transmission in schools, then we can reduce
the overall burden of disease within our communities. It’s a win-win.”
“It is not the duty of school principals or teachers to be their own public health experts or
ventilation engineers: They must be given effective guidance & resources by the Department
of Education to ensure that the indoor air quality in schools is safe. The Department is failing
school employees and students by not issuing such guidance or resources.”
~ ENDS ~

2 7