Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 3d

The article states “The Conservatives say they would task officials with removing 750,000 illegal immigrants.” This is inaccurate: the plan would include migrants *legally* in the country, because it is legal for refugees to enter to claim asylum without first getting a visa.

David Owen @artsofdenial.bsky.social · 3d

In a desperate attempt to boost their poll standing, Tories propose to abandon the rule of law
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Conservatives pledge to remove 750,000 migrants under borders plan

The party unveils new policies on illegal migration as its annual conference begins in Manchester.

www.bbc.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 3d

A thought: perhaps far right anti-semitism in the UK is less common partly because many Jews are represented by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which is sort of centrist/right. In the US there is no org like BofD, Jews are viewed as left, and far right anti-semitism is *extremely* common.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 8d

I hope @theguardian.com includes a follow up or a clarification: that’s an extremely misleading headline and bad journalism to not mention that most soy is grown for meat.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 9d

Am I missing something, or does Reform’s plan sound more pro-immigrant than Labour? Though Reform says immigrants won’t get ILR and need to reapply for a new visa after 5 years, they’ll still be eligible for citizenship after 5 years AND won’t need to volunteer to get it - unlike with Labour.

Prof Nisreen Alwan @nisreenalwan.bsky.social · 9d

To say that you will ‘have to volunteer’ to be eligible for settled status even if working full time as a doctor or nurse for example is not really volunteering because it would not be voluntary. The govt should call it something else if they want to enforce it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Shabana Mahmood to demand migrants earn right to settled status

New tests will include learning English to a high standard, paying National Insurance and not claiming benefits.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 10d

Prisoners (including those not arrested under terrorism charges) now have their keffiyas confiscated because keffiyas are considered “branding associated with the Palestine Action Group.” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Prisoners held over alleged Palestine Action offences face crackdown since group ban

People charged before protest group was proscribed describe restrictions on wearing keffiyehs and holding certain prison jobs

www.theguardian.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 11d

@ianleslie.bsky.social claims anti-immigrant attitudes arose from the size and velocity of a “post-pandemic (and post-Brexit) surge in immigration.” But the surge began *during* the pandemic, more because of new health and care workers than anything else - workers wildly popular amongst voters.

Ian Leslie @ianleslie.bsky.social · 11d

The Ruffian has LANDED. This week: the progressive case for border control. ianleslie.substack.com/p/a-studio-5...

A Studio 54 Immigration Policy (or Why Liberals Should Learn To Love Bouncers)

The Progressive Case For Border Control

ianleslie.substack.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 12d

Do any philosophers have experience creating their own index, and/or hired a good indexer they can recommend?

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 14d

David Yambio, President of Refugees in Libya and victim of EU-funded abuses:

"We, Refugees in Libya and I, personally, have been abducted with the boats you financed. We have been held in arbitrary detention in the prisons you have supported. We have been tortured by the militias you have trained.”

Refugees in Libya @refugeesinlibya.bsky.social · 14d

EU Commission: Stop Funding Abuse in Libya — Joint Letter from 42 Humanitarian and Civil Society Groups

www.refugeesinlibya.org/post/eu-comm...

EU Commission: Stop Funding Abuse in Libya — Joint Letter from 42 Humanitarian and Civil Society Groups

IMMEDIATE RELEASE 23.09.2025 16:30 CETEU Commission must cut Libyan Coast Guard funding after rescue ship shooting, say 42 humanitarian and civil society groupsEuropean funds should not be provided to...

www.refugeesinlibya.org

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Reposted by Mollie Gerver

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 15d

I think I neglected to share the link to the published version of my paper The Value of Ceremonies (open access) which was my Presidential Address for @triphilosophy.bsky.social

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The Value of Ceremonies | Philosophy | Cambridge Core

The Value of Ceremonies - Volume 100 Issue 1

www.cambridge.org

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 15d

At least one organisation cites a study indicating mammograms from 40 saves lives (though it does not account for other outcomes) so maybe they should be updating the policy and beginning mammograms earlier: www.breastcancer.org/research-new...

Starting Breast Cancer Screening at Age 40 Instead of 50 Saves Lives

Starting screening mammograms at age 40 instead of age 50 saves women's lives.

www.breastcancer.org

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 15d

I thought the mammogram policy was because risks of false positives, and negative effects of these, outweigh benefits for those under 50? It’s also worth noting that the NHS has, for years, been explicitly about health *and* finances, using QALYs. But agree that the NHS is definitely underfunded!!

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 16d

When I went to the academia/,
.edu site to delete my account, I noticed twelve AI podcasts about my articles posted on my profile without my knowledge or consent. Now they can create AI versions of users for whatever they want, sold to whoever they want, anywhere they want, for as long as they want.

Dr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.bsky.social · 20d

I'm sorry, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable permission to my voice and likeness? For what now? In any manner for any purpose???

This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 16d

An excellent defence by @akoustov.bsky.social of a policy where private citizens can use their own money to bring over and support refugees, who are given permanent residency on arrival or later. In the US this is supported by even most Republicans.
alexanderkustov.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...

"Why Don't You House Them Yourself?" — Because I Legally Can't

The political promise and limits of private refugee sponsorship

alexanderkustov.substack.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 17d

Also in the article: a psychologist who used to administer the test says he’s not been able to pass it himself, and nor have his colleagues. This isn’t just a test that culturally insensitive; it’s a test that almost nobody can pass.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 17d

Not only is this false, but many of those do take more than they pay monetarily also worked as caretakers, nurses, doctors, and agricultural workers during the pandemic, risking their lives. It’s easy to forget what these immigrants did and how British citizens felt about them five years ago.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 18d

In Denmark, if you’re pregnant and the government thinks you will be a bad parent because you were abused as a child, they can give you a test asking “what’s glass made of?” and “what’s the big staircase in Rome called?”If you fail they take your baby after birth. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘The nurse told me I couldn’t keep my baby’: how a controversial Danish ‘parenting test’ separated a Greenlandic woman from her children

Two hours after Keira Alexandra Kronvold gave birth, her daughter was taken from her – the third child to be removed from her care following a now-banned assessment that disproportionately targets Inu...

www.theguardian.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 18d

One of the psychologists who used to perform these tests for the state said “It is almost impossible to pass them” and even he and his colleagues failed to do so. Questions include “What is glass made of?” and “What is the name of the big staircase in Rome?”
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘The nurse told me I couldn’t keep my baby’: how a controversial Danish ‘parenting test’ separated a Greenlandic woman from her children

Two hours after Keira Alexandra Kronvold gave birth, her daughter was taken from her – the third child to be removed from her care following a now-banned assessment that disproportionately targets Inu...

www.theguardian.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 20d

I’ll also be making “up to” 30 billion this year.

Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 21d

Thirty billion.

If you're going to do boosterism then give it both barrels, suppose.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 21d

Yeah, that’s true, though it’s probably better to both argue against the false connection and also improve economic prospects. To be honest, I think I responded so negatively to the article because of the claim that people who spend money on nice beer couldn’t possible be in economic distress.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 22d

Yes, agree: it could be economic downturn —> populists blaming migrants —> anti-immigrant attitudes. If that’s true, that’s still consistent claiming that one reason to improve the economy is to decrease xenophobia (though perhaps not racism itself).

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 22d

That is true. There’s a good article from a while back on this: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre.... But there is evidence that economic downturns as a whole are associated with more anti-immigrant attitudes. See comparativemigrationstudies.springeropen.com/articles/10.....

It’s not the ‘white working class’. The real home of bigotry is elsewhere | Faiza Shaheen

It’s actually middle-income earners who are most prejudiced, says Faiza Shaheen

www.theguardian.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 22d

I’m not sure this is true. When I was in 2nd grade I was introduced to the Holocaust at my Orthodox Jewish school, and the brilliant teacher began by talking about very poor Germans looking for scapegoats. Economic deprivation feeds on racism, and the wealthy who don’t want to help find scapegoats.

Eugene Lim @tukohbin.bsky.social · 22d

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 22d

The man with five houses who says there aren’t enough houses because of asylum seekers in hotels is also the man with two ex-wives who says men marrying women have more stable relationships.

Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 23d

Nigel Farage:

"Children who have two stable parents have a better chance in life... The most stable relationships, the ones that last the longest, tend to be between men & women... There's an awful lot of kids in the country not getting the kind of start... they deserve."

Farage has two ex-wives.

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 22d

Lots of people say offensive things when they’re young, and maybe they can change. If they change they say things like “I acted wrongly. I’m sorry” and not “it is chilling that a conversation from nearly a decade ago can do this sort of damage.” www.itv.com/news/2025-09...

www.itv.com

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Mollie Gerver @mgerver.bsky.social · 22d

Excellent point: The Home Office seems to believe not initially granting asylum deters more people from arriving, but it just increases the number who appeal, increasing the appeals backlog, forcing more genuine refugees to live in hotels for longer rather than being able to work.

Colin Yeo @colinyeo.bsky.social · 22d

In case you missed it: Yvette Cooper and Home Office immigration ministers cleared out in reshuffle | Colin Yeo

Yvette Cooper and Home Office immigration ministers cleared out in reshuffle - Free Movement

Last weekend's reshuffle saw Yvette Cooper replaced as Home Secretary by Shabana Mahmood, who was previously the Lord Chancellor. In addition, Angela Eagle,

freemovement.org.uk

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