Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 1h

I'm reminded that David Cameron petitioned execs to delay the broadcast of the first season of the show in the UK because he didn't want it to influence the 2014 indyref.

sourcenews.scot/uk-governmen...

The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 1h

The Outlander TV series has had an 'astonishing' effect on tourism in Scotland, according to a report

'Outlander effect' has 'astonishing' effect on Scottish tourism, report says

www.thenational.scot

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 1h

Is it the "free card for access to the medbeds that the aliens/liberals/liberal aliens [delete as appropriate] are keeping from us" plan that his AI avatar promised? Because that would be a good deal if it wasn't a completely fabricated conspiracy theory.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2h

Thune: "The president would like to overhaul Obamacare and give people health insurance that is higher quality and more affordable."

Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

Raptor Persecution UK @raptorpersuk.bsky.social · 4h

Scottish Government delays start of muirburn licences for the second time after aggressive lobbying by grouse shooting industry.

Climate emergency, anyone?

Seems Scot Gov more interested in appeasing the lairds than protecting the environment.

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/09/s...

Scottish Government delays start of muirburn licences (for the second time) after aggressive lobbying by grouse shooting industry

The Scottish Government has, for the second time, delayed the implementation of muirburn licensing after caving in to pressure from aggressive lobbying by the grouse shooting industry. A quick re-c…

raptorpersecutionuk.org

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

William Duguid @williamduguid1.bsky.social · 1d

'The numbers are still relatively small – more than 95% of Council Tax owed last year was paid – but the unpaid collection rate now stands at 4.5%, and this is the largest non-payment rate since the start of devolution.'
@thecommongreen.scot, via Common Weal

The Recession Hidden in Council Tax — Common Weal

How the unfairness at the heart of the Council Tax may be affecting you and how a disturbing rise in missed Council Tax payments may be a sign of a coming recession.

www.commonweal.scot

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

The Secret Barrister @barristersecret.bsky.social · 2d

This is a lie.

There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years.

But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public.

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

Reuters @reuters.com · 2d

BREAKING: Nobel prize in physics goes to scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantization in an electric circuit reut.rs/4ockCUq

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

Prof. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · 2d

Will I be the first to suggest the carbon offsets worked exactly as planned: they delayed real action for another 25 years

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

Carbon offsets fail to cut global heating due to ‘intractable’ systemic problems, study says

Analysis of 25 years of evidence shows most schemes are poor quality and fail to lower emissions The failure of carbon offsets to cut planet-heating pollution is “not due to a few bad apples”, a review paper has found, but down to deep-seated systemic problems that incremental change will not solve. Research over two decades has found “intractable” problems that have made carbon credits in most big programmes poor quality, according to the study. While the industry and diplomats have made efforts to improve the system, it found much-awaited rules agreed at a UN climate summit last year “did not substantially address the quality problem”. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 2d

The UK Conservative Party has announced that, like Reform, they wish to eject me from the only country I've ever lived for the crime of marrying someone who came here and found me.

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 3d

The Tory Party has gone mad..

He insisted the Conservatives had a plan to cut spending, including £8bn of annual savings from reducing the civil service, £6.9bn from cutting the aid budget and £23bn from slashing the welfare bill.

Stride told the BBC that to save money, only UK citizens would have access to the welfare system and that people with "low-level" mental health problems would also lose access to benefits.

Asked what would happen to people living legally in Britain who are not UK citizens if they fall into hardship, he said: "They've come from other parts of the world and they would have the option to return."

The Conservatives failed to back the Labour government's proposed £5bn of welfare savings this year. Stride claimed that the Labour plans were rushed and "not considered and principled".

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

Ian Moss @thebriefwriters.com · 3d

This use case of generative AI is,of course, also why governments don’t need to pay millions to use Deloitte any more.

Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 3d

Dr Christopher Rudge, law lecturer at the University of Sydney, says the report that Deloitte prepared for Australia's Department of Employment and Workplace Relations contained “hallucinations” because of an initially undisclosed use of generative AI. Now the government is getting its money back.

Deloitte to pay money back to Albanese government after using AI in $440,000 report

Partial refund to be issued after several errors were found in a report into a department’s compliance framework

www.theguardian.com

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 3d

Deloitte is extensively used for outsourcing by the Scottish Government.

It may be worth calling for a review of all of their work submitted since the launch of LLM chatbots and for assurances from ALL outsourcing consultants to make clear if and where they use bots to produce their submitted work.

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 3d

The Big Four accountancy and consultancy firm will repay the final instalment of its government contract after conceding that some footnotes and references it contained were incorrect. on.ft.com/3KWQI7Z

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 3d

Reminder that neither she nor the rest of the crew of the flotilla even attempted to enter Israel legally or otherwise. They were taken their against their will. So yes, "released" is a more appropriate word than "deported".

Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 3d

"Deported" is a very interesting way to say kidnapped, imprisoned illegally, abused, then released. 🤔

Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 3d

Reminded of a dystopian sci-fi setting where agents kept getting punished by the regime for failing to find evidence of the subversive rebel group. So canny agents ended up founding said rebel group to give their colleagues something to infiltrate and report back on.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5d

Leavitt: "There have been so many incredible independent journalists across the country who have gone undercover within antifa and really have come to understand how this is a growing domestic terrorism threat."

Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 3d

In my old laser job, I worked in about a dozen cities across the USA (looking back, possibly under similar visa arrangements that got those Korean workers detained...)

Of those, Portland was by far my favourite and the only one that spoke to me as a place that I could have seen myself living in.

competentposter @competentposter.bsky.social · 4d

wizard frog is insane

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 3d

There's a good feasibility study published in July this year for a community owned heat network in East Lothian looking at these and other issues here: eastlothianclimatehub.org/east-lothian...

East Lothian Heat: A Bold Vision for Community-Owned Clean Heat - East Lothian Climate Hub

A major milestone has been reached in the journey to decarbonise heating in East Lothian: the release of the East Lothian Heat Feasibility Study Report.

eastlothianclimatehub.org

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 3d

In short, yes - though in practice other community vehicles like Development Trusts or dedicated CICs or other community corporate structures can be used too if more appropriate. This can be particularly pertinent if the best design for a heat network crosses CC boundaries.

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

David Pratt @foreigncorr1.bsky.social · 4d

Angry at abuses of power, wealth inequality, and corruption, a new generation of activists are taking to the world’s streets. Today’s in-depth read examines whether it’s a passing revolt or start of a profound political shift 👇 www.heraldscotland.com/news/2551796...

Gen Z activists are now key political force not to be ignored

Angry at abuses of power and wealth inequality, a new generation of activists are taking to the world’s streets. Foreign Editor David Pratt…

www.heraldscotland.com

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 4d

Yeah. It's absolutely awful.

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 4d

The government want more coercive powers for the state against protests, and the main opposition party wants more coercive powers for the state against migrants.

Our political-media culture continues in a loop where the response to every perceived problem is yet more coercive powers for the state.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 4d

Always remember that a protest without "disruption" is just a group of powerless people being laughed at by those with power.

www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag...

Protest is not a threat to Democracy - Protest protects Democracy — Common Weal

The UK Government’s attempt to ban Palestine Action is a risky overreach that threatens to further quash the kinds of protest that protect rather than threaten democracy.

www.commonweal.scot

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 4d

A reminder for students of escalating pressure campaigning that when it starts to have an impact, the state may make legal protests illegal.

These powers will inevitably be used against other long-term protest movements such as the @cnduk.bsky.social and possibly even independence marches.

The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 4d

LATEST: Police are to be given greater powers to restrict protests by allowing them to consider the 'cumulative impact' of repeated demonstrations

Police to be given greater powers to restrict repeated protests

www.thenational.scot

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 5d

My paper on how Scotland can own our own energy.

www.commonweal.scot/policies/how...

How To Own Scottish Energy — Common Weal

Several policy proposals within the scope of devolution that would allow the Scottish Government to bring energy into public ownership.

www.commonweal.scot

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 5d

The Scottish Government kept telling me that devolution meant that Scotland couldn't do publicly-owned renewables.

I kept telling them to that even if Ministers weren't allowed to own them, Local Authorities could.

www.thenational.scot/news/2551605...

First council-owned solar power farm switched on in first for Scotland

THE first solar powered farm owned by a Scottish council has officially been switched on

www.thenational.scot

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Reposted by Dr Craig Dalȝell

William Duguid @williamduguid1.bsky.social · 6d

‘Scotland has always done things a little differently. So why not now? Why not admit that our justice system is faltering, and ask what a system built for truth and fairness in the twenty-first century would actually look like?’
Megan Davidson, via Common Weal

When justice pretends to be certain — Common Weal

The recent justice reforms treat juries as if they are expected or capable of somehow divining ‘the truth’ through an opaque system. A radical look at justice would ask what the pursuit of truth actually looked like.

www.commonweal.scot

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 6d

They own a lot of houses too. Apparently they're not the best landlords. Tenants in Toronto just concluded a years long rent strike against them.

uk.news.yahoo.com/thorncliffe-...

Thorncliffe Park tenants, landlord reach 'amicable agreement' after years-long rent strike

A years-long protest by tenants at Thorncliffe Park has come to an end after "an amicable agreement" was reached with the private landlord, Starlight Investments. The agreement comes after tenants at ...

uk.news.yahoo.com

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 6d

Glasgow airport was nationalised last year...by Canada.

www.ft.com/content/adab...

Canadian pension fund buys UK airports operator for £1.5bn

PSP acquires AGS from Macquarie and former Heathrow investor Ferrovial

www.ft.com

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