Dr Martin Roberts
@robertsmartino.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.2K following 1.4K posts
Medieval & Early Modern Historian (PhD Nottingham 2020). Writes about C16 Church Courts. Postdoctoral Researcher @ University of Lincoln. Once a lawyer. Still overweight. Increasingly bald. Never keen on Fascists. Philogynist.
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Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
“We want our international students to continue to feel welcomed for the positive social and cultural and economic contributions they make in Wales, and we're very keen to ensure that that continues so there will not be a levy in Wales.” (Welsh education secretary Lynne Neagle)
Wales rules out levy on international student fees
Education secretary confirms devolved nation will not follow UK government in taking a cut of overseas tuition fee income
www.timeshighereducation.com
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
louiselocock.bsky.social
Anyone who still thinks Turning Point is a benign organisation defending free speech in universities needs their head examined.
ruaaup-aft.bsky.social
This week, our colleague Dr. Mark Bray came under attack by Turning Point USA’s Rutgers chapter for his public scholarship. Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union condemn this campaign and stand in solidarity with our colleagues. Read our full statement here: https://loom.ly/BDXasRY
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
timbale.bsky.social
Leunig, a former gov adviser, said scrapping it — while it would boost growth and productivity — would be “a very, very big tax cut for rich people”. One effect would be to boost house prices, making the main beneficiaries the existing owners of expensive properties in the south-east of England.
Should stamp duty be scrapped in the UK?
Conservative party says property tax deters people from moving house and stifles productivity
www.ft.com
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
medievaliste.bsky.social
This is a key piece of the attacks we’re seeing on all levels of education: A public that distrusts teachers and professors is a public that is primed to allow government leaders to divert public funds—meaning taxes—towards tech billionaires and their questionable products.
jessicacalarco.com
Fueling distrust in teachers--particularly among vulnerable students--might also be by design. Because tech companies have a great deal to gain financially if they can persuade families and policymakers that AI can replace teachers in struggling public schools. 3/
robertsmartino.bsky.social
Seems to be a rumour over on Threads atm
robertsmartino.bsky.social
Can anyone confirm, with a source please, that MSWord Spellcheck now uses AI and might not be basing its results on real words but simply frequency of a certain spelling? Seems mad but also quite possibly true.
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
lif3asmaj.blacksky.app
The best part about this is that no matter how they try to come across as brave? They end up looking like paranoid loons that are scared to death…in this case, by a guy in a chicken suit.
the-independent.com
Kristi Noem praised for ‘staring down’ Antifa. It was a dozen reporters and a guy in a chicken suit
Kristi Noem ‘stares down’ Antifa. It was reporters and a guy in a chicken costume
www.independent.co.uk
robertsmartino.bsky.social
Barristers aren't "struck off" but I doubt he has done anything sufficiently unprofessional to merit any disciplinary action. That would only work if he was considered to be practising, and he isn't really.
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
cwebbonline.com
Stephen Miller said the quiet part out loud. Trump has “plenary authority,” then suddenly went silent. Their plan wasn’t to be public yet. Clearly, someone hit the panic button in his earpiece.

It gets weirder: CNN uploaded the interview with the “plenary authority” comment edited out.
1/2
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
thebulwark.com
And now for a report from the hellish, war-zone that is Portland
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
robertsmartino.bsky.social
As a @universityofleeds.bsky.social graduate, I am ashamed to say that a fellow lawyer of my generation seems to have forgotten everything he ever learned at the School of Law. 😢
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
joannechocolat.bsky.social
The reason the Right are so invested in the myth that the arts have no value isn’t because the arts don’t generate wealth (they do); it’s that studying the arts teaches people to imagine better ways of judging the value of an idea than by counting how much money it makes…
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
robertbohan.bsky.social
Happy Lesbian Visibility Day!
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
keithwdickinson.bsky.social
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
robertsmartino.bsky.social
When I was cycling a lot (c.200 miles a week), I learned that it takes a 25-mile ride to work off a mince pie! Unfortunately, I had to stop cycling after a crash. My fitness levels have never been the same since 🙃
robertsmartino.bsky.social
Nice to see you back on here, too! 🙂
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
georgemonbiot.bsky.social
1. Infuriatingly, here in the UK, the government still seems to believe that the only way of introducing trees is to plant them (see, for example, the current Land Use Framework consultation).
News just in: trees can self-seed, which could be why they've survived for 360m years. 🧵
irishrainforest.bsky.social
I took this photo less than 10 years after the deer fence behind was erected. Before it went up, the land behind was just grass, exactly like the foreground where he sheep are.

*Nothing* was planted here.

"It's not rocket science" is an understatement.
🌍
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Kemi Badenoch blames those crossing borders for our problems. It’s a lie aimed to distract.

The real issue is a system protecting the super-rich while nurses & carers can’t make ends meet. Tax wealth fairly, fund public services properly. This is how we give Britain hope again.
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
alondra.bsky.social
"It is not hyperbole to say that the future of higher education in America requires that every university reject it. If any schools capitulate, the pressure will be enormous on all to fold. The only solution is solidarity and collective action against this effort at federal control over higher" ed.
philipncohen.com
Chemerinsky: The Trump extortion demands are unconstitutional as well as odious (gift link). Me: Any school that signs must be shunned, faculty affected must walk. No room for this.
Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Dr Martin Roberts
juliarosekraut.bsky.social
Happy Banned Books Week! 🗃️

For more information on Book Bans, check out this recent report from @penamerica.bsky.social

pen.org/report/the-n...
Read Banned Books under a shelf of books.