Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Alan Allport

@alanallport.bsky.social

Machado can give her medal to whomever she wants. It’s merely a symbol of an otherwise non-transferable award. Trump is no more a Nobel laureate now than Putin is a winner of Super Bowl XXXIX.

January 15, 2026 at 10:05 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Alex Andreou

@sturdyalex.bsky.social

Every defector Farage unveils, swears up-and-down that they made no deal.

Farage cocked up today and pulled back that curtain. A huge unforced error.

Incredibly, when - rightly - pressed about it, he pretended, to journalists' faces, that he had never said what he said TO THEM an hour earlier.

January 15, 2026 at 8:32 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Otto English

@ottoenglish.bsky.social

It's called "taking back control of our borders to keep extremists out".

Suck it up Brexbores.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Dutch far-right activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek appears to lose right to UK visa-free travel

Influencer, who promotes conspiracy theories and anti-immigration rhetoric, posts notification that her ETA has been cancelled

www.theguardian.com

January 15, 2026 at 8:41 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Kevin M. Kruse

@kevinmkruse.bsky.social

Just want to stress that this was a woman who was simply trying to get to a doctor's appointment.

Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 2d

We are so far past the Rubicon that it isn't worth having a discussion anymore as to whether Trump is acting as an authoritarian. The only question is whether we have the strength and courage to get back to the other side.

January 14, 2026 at 9:37 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Best for Britain

@bestforbritain.org

We see the damage that Trump is inflicting on the US. We don’t want those policies here in the UK.

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/make-europe-great-again-populist-right-trumps-playbook-4142727

Make Europe great again: How the populist right is using Trump's playbook

Trump's return to the centre of US politics has provided both inspiration and validation for Europe's populists

inews.co.uk

January 14, 2026 at 4:05 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

The News Agents

@newsagents.bsky.social

"Federal police are turning up on American streets asking people for their identity papers," says Lewis Goodall.

"That is reminiscent of a Gestapo".

Right-wing podcaster Joe Rogan has compared Trump's ICE Agents to Nazi secret police. Is he right?

www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/ice-...

ICE violence escalates across America: ‘It is reminiscent of Nazi Gestapo’ | The News Agents

Violence between US civilians and federal ICE Agents on the streets of America continues, but are officers acting on immigration concerns, or as Donald Trump’s private militia?

www.thenewsagents.co.uk

January 14, 2026 at 4:37 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Best for Britain

@bestforbritain.org

We can't rely on Trump's America. Now is time for closer ties with Europe.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/14/europe-trump-democracy-violent-conquest-federalism

Europe must now tell Trump that enough is enough – and cut all ties with the US | Alexander Hurst

How do you retain a space of democracy in a world that is reverting to violent conquest? By building a protective moat of federalism around it, says Paris-based Guardian writer Alexander Hurst

www.theguardian.com

January 14, 2026 at 5:16 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Best for Britain

@bestforbritain.org

Our new database tracks Tory defections to Reform UK. The ease with which Tories are finding a home in the Reform UK party shows who the party serves.

Vote for Reform UK and get the very worst of the Tories.

https://www.bestforbritain.org/tory_reformuk_defection_tracker

January 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Alan Allport

@alanallport.bsky.social

If the US invades Greenland and Denmark triggers Article 5 the US military should divvy up, half to do the invasion and half to defend against it #compromise

January 14, 2026 at 1:36 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Best for Britain

@bestforbritain.org

Facts 💯

Anas Sarwar: “Reform UK is full of Toxic Tory rejects.

“Reform is nothing more than Tories in disguise – the same team, the same agenda, just a different badge.”

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/anas-sarwar-dismisses-reform-uk-36548158

Anas Sarwar dismisses Reform UK as “Toxic Tory rejects” in angry attack

The Scottish Labour leader also described senior Reform figures as "self-interested charlatans"

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

January 14, 2026 at 3:05 PM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Robin Ince

@robinince.bsky.social

When I was a freelance BBC science presenter, I wrote in support of Professor Dorothy Bishop and was then told I should not be critical of the Royal Society. Now I’ve resigned, so I can say I think @profrachelgan.bsky.social is making an important point here.

$profrachelgan.bsky.social$ Prof Rachel Oliver @profrachelgan.bsky.social · 4d

Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.

Dear Sir Paul,

Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct

I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied.

A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial.

I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research.

I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists.

I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Rachel A. Oliver.

January 14, 2026 at 9:19 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Zoe Gardner

@zoejardiniere.bsky.social

The brutal & horrific repression of protest in Iran is just the latest illustration why immigration may be falling, numbers of asylum seekers are not falling at all.

People need to escape danger - Iran has long been a key country of origin of refugees reaching the uk #r4today

Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · 2d

The folks at More In Common found 2/3 of Brits are WRONG about immigration…

But are we really? Or do we just mean 2 different things when we talk about immigration?

January 14, 2026 at 7:08 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Sarah Murphy

@13sarahmurphy.bsky.social

So this is what Farage wants to do with his precious Brexit ‘sovereignty’: sell out our NHS to Trump’s America and grub for power in the misery of its collapse.

Such a cynical, malignant politician. Happy to lie to our faces, weaken our rights and break what we value, if it enriches him.
(iPaper)

Fix NHS or extremists Will win, warns Davey
By Nina Lloyd, Sophie Wingate and David Lynch
Populists and extremists will be the winners if politicians fail the NHS, Sir Ed Davey warned yesterday.
The Liberal Democrat leader suggested failing to bring down A&E waits would allow for "disillusionment" to be exploited as he set out his party's plans to give patients a legal right to be seen within 12 hours.
Speaking in London's Chartered Accountants' Hall, Davey attacked Labour and the Tories for their record on the NHS.
"If we don't show we can change things, if we can't fix this crisis, that's when the populists and the extremists will take advantage," he said.
"Not because they can fix it, of course they can't. They're not even interested in fixing it.
"But because populists feed off disillusionment, they thrive when people simply don't believe that any government or any party can really make their lives better."
He singled out the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (inset), who he claimed "doesn't care about the NHS" and wants to "privatise" the service by replacing it with "an American-style insurance system"
Under the proposals, £1.5bn would go towards making 6,000 beds available for care by the end of the year, in an effort to end what Davey called a
"deadly corridor crisis"
Ministers would have a "statutory" duty to limit the time spent waiting to be admitted in
A&E to 12 hours or less, the
party added.
The party said their plan would be funded by scrapping the Government's pharmaceuticals deal with the US, which could result in the
NHS paying billions more for drugs.
Davey told Donald Trump to
"bring it on" as he faced questions from journalists about the prospect of retaliation if the UK ripped up its trade arrangements with the US.

January 14, 2026 at 7:53 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Zoe Gardner

@zoejardiniere.bsky.social

The informal economy where undocumented migrants & asylum seekers find work despite idiotic restrictions is larger in France than the UK.

It is larger in every other European country that also have ID than the UK.

The idea you can work more easily in the UK is a lie. #r4today

January 14, 2026 at 8:22 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Robin Ince

@robinince.bsky.social

Very disappointing - also, how many fellows of the Royal Society are there who are not scientists but business men ?

The
UK ~
Guardian
Royal Society
Royal Society president reignites Elon Musk row by defending lack of action
Society should only eject fellows for fraud or other defects in their research, says Paul Nurse
Nicola Davis Science correspondent

January 14, 2026 at 8:42 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Sarah Murphy

@13sarahmurphy.bsky.social

You can’t get the Brexit people voted for because it doesn’t exist. It was a con. A prejudiced, arrogant fantasy created by a cynical campaign of dishonesty.

This is however the relentless, tedious Brexit reality. An ongoing national scandal. A betrayal of a country by its politicians and media.

Liam Byrne MP @liambyrnemp.bsky.social · 2d

I don’t think we’ve got the Brexit people voted for. Our traders face a daily nightmare getting goods across the border.

Here’s one example of just why. Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport told us about the 26 stamps he needs on loads of forms. To move one trailer across the Channel…

January 14, 2026 at 9:07 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Best for Britain

@bestforbritain.org

⚠️ "Before Brexit there were no controls."

⌛ "Delays can range from two hours to our worst experience is a matter of 27 days, I think was the worst."

🔄 "We actually left the trailer in the border post, and were changing drivers, bringing drivers back."

💷 "The invoice totalled over £16,000"

January 14, 2026 at 9:09 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Otto English

@ottoenglish.bsky.social

People try to ascribe motives, strategy and logic to Trump but it's not acknowledged nearly enough that he's simply a spectacularly stupid man who happens to be extremely rich and entitled with it and therefore has gained a lot of power.

He's a very clear example of the Dunning Kruger effect.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Q: The premier of Greenland said today, 'We prefer to stay with Denmark.'

TRUMP: Who said that?

Q: The premier of Greenland

TRUMP: Well, that's their problem. I disagree with him. I don't know who he is. Don't know anything about him. But that's gonna be a big problem for him.

January 14, 2026 at 9:09 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Lewis Baston

@lewisbaston.bsky.social

I may not know much about Star Trek but I was under the impression that it was… anti-racist.

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 2d

"We want to make Star Trek real," said Elon Musk.

"We want to make Starfleet Academy real so that it's not always science fiction, but one day the science fiction turns to science fact."

January 14, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Bremain in Spain

@bremaininspain.com

The far right obsession with London is vital in their playbook. People who don’t live there are told constantly it’s a crime ridden hell hole with no go areas. It’s just not true on every measure - it’s a hugely successful and multicultural city, and that’s why they hate it.

Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 4d

Khan: "[London is] one of the safest.. cities in the world when it comes to homicide. We're safer than Paris, Milan, Rome, Brussels, Berlin.. two and half times safer than NY, 5 times safer than LA, 12 times safer than Chicago.. those that spread lies have a problem with London"

January 12, 2026 at 10:01 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast

@ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social

Three cheers for Harriet Harman but she’s naive if she thinks women and politicians can “reclaim the space” of X, as she’s just said on R4Today.

It’s owned by a fascist. It boosts fascism, sexism and racism. It is beyond saving.

The Govt and politicians need to get off that diseased platform.

January 14, 2026 at 8:54 AM

Reposted by Morph Ofcourse.

The Rejoin EU Party

@therejoineuparty.com

🚨🇪🇺 Brexit WOW moment 🇪🇺🚨

The Brexitgraph Telegraph published a full-blown obituary for Brexit:

📉 GDP down 8%
📉 Investment down 18%
📉 Productivity down 4%
📉 Employment down 4%
❌ No trade benefits
❌ No regulatory freedom
❌ No upside whatsoever

Do you agree it’s time to end Brexit?