Alasdair Pettinger
@bulldozia.com
Words | history | sounds. Author, editor, archivist. Autistic. Latchy student of Gàidhlig, Cymraeg, Kreyòl & stringed instruments. Book: Frederick Douglass and Scotland, 1846. Researching revolutionary slogans. North Pembrokeshire. www.bulldozia.com
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
Without even consulting members, UNISON backs Bridget Phillipson as Deputy Labour Leader. Its time to put UNISON members first.
September 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Without even consulting members, UNISON backs Bridget Phillipson as Deputy Labour Leader. Its time to put UNISON members first.
'The BBC will only survive if the people who fund it are actively and directly involved in running it. An institution that began life as a private company and became a chartered corporation must now become a public service cooperative': substack.com/inbox/post/....
Abolish the BBC?
The real crisis for the broadcaster is the rise of US-based digital media and the growing need for a democratic media
substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:13 PM
'The BBC will only survive if the people who fund it are actively and directly involved in running it. An institution that began life as a private company and became a chartered corporation must now become a public service cooperative': substack.com/inbox/post/....
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
"We loan books from the local library, or we loan books through it from a library far away. But we also lend ourselves to the library — enlarging the commons and participating in the political project of making an informed society." @shannonmattern.bsky.social
placesjournal.org/article/extr...
placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Extralibrary Loan: Making the Civic Infrastructure We Need
Amid a war on public knowledge, libraries are pushing outward, enlarging the commons through new configurations of civic and creative life.
placesjournal.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:28 PM
"We loan books from the local library, or we loan books through it from a library far away. But we also lend ourselves to the library — enlarging the commons and participating in the political project of making an informed society." @shannonmattern.bsky.social
placesjournal.org/article/extr...
placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
Or to put it another way, both Nigel Farage and Zack Polanski will have reasons to celebrate if Labour introduce an ultra-hardline asylum policy modelled on an unpopular Danish government which is allied with the centre-right. Polanski will get more Lab recruits, and that increases Farage's lead.
November 8, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Or to put it another way, both Nigel Farage and Zack Polanski will have reasons to celebrate if Labour introduce an ultra-hardline asylum policy modelled on an unpopular Danish government which is allied with the centre-right. Polanski will get more Lab recruits, and that increases Farage's lead.
Autumn colours, Cambuslang.
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Autumn colours, Cambuslang.
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
Librarians told 404 Media they're being inundated with new pitches for AI library tech and catalogs are being flooded with AI slop books.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 6, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Librarians told 404 Media they're being inundated with new pitches for AI library tech and catalogs are being flooded with AI slop books.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
In the midst of horrific mass killings and violence, British-made military equipment has been found in Sudan.
It's clear our arms export licensing system is not fit for purpose; we need a full review, alongside an embargo on all arms exports to the UAE now.
It's clear our arms export licensing system is not fit for purpose; we need a full review, alongside an embargo on all arms exports to the UAE now.
November 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
In the midst of horrific mass killings and violence, British-made military equipment has been found in Sudan.
It's clear our arms export licensing system is not fit for purpose; we need a full review, alongside an embargo on all arms exports to the UAE now.
It's clear our arms export licensing system is not fit for purpose; we need a full review, alongside an embargo on all arms exports to the UAE now.
'“The mood board was definitely New York iconography: taxicab yellow, MetroCard primary colors, bodega awnings, stuff people are familiar with in the New York street.”' www.curbed.com/article/zohr...
Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Logo Looked Nothing Like a Campaign Logo
The bodega-influenced visual language of an outsider campaign.
www.curbed.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:55 AM
'“The mood board was definitely New York iconography: taxicab yellow, MetroCard primary colors, bodega awnings, stuff people are familiar with in the New York street.”' www.curbed.com/article/zohr...
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation longlist 2025 clairemcalpine.com/2025/11/04/w...
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation longlist 2025
Fourteen titles have been longlisted for the 8th annual award of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. The 2025 competition received a total of 145 eligible entries from 34 languages. The lon…
clairemcalpine.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation longlist 2025 clairemcalpine.com/2025/11/04/w...
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
Blood spilled in Sudan can be seen from space. Nobody can feign ignorance about what’s going on | Nesrine Malik
Blood spilled in Sudan can be seen from space. Nobody can feign ignorance about what’s going on | Nesrine Malik
The massacres carried out by the RSF in El Fasher, Darfur, with the support of its UAE sponsors, will only stop when the international community acts, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Blood spilled in Sudan can be seen from space. Nobody can feign ignorance about what’s going on | Nesrine Malik
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
“It’s almost impossible to transition away from fossil fuels without nickel from Indonesia,” one research analyst said. Fueling that transition are migrant workers from China, laboring in deadly conditions.
Read @wufeiyu.bsky.social’s new feature, produced Grist and republished by Rest of World:
Read @wufeiyu.bsky.social’s new feature, produced Grist and republished by Rest of World:
The Chinese migrant workers powering the deadly EV nickel boom
30,000 Chinese workers travel thousands of miles to remote islands in Eastern Indonesia to process nickel — and put their lives at risk on the frontier of the green energy transition.
restofworld.org
October 8, 2025 at 12:36 PM
“It’s almost impossible to transition away from fossil fuels without nickel from Indonesia,” one research analyst said. Fueling that transition are migrant workers from China, laboring in deadly conditions.
Read @wufeiyu.bsky.social’s new feature, produced Grist and republished by Rest of World:
Read @wufeiyu.bsky.social’s new feature, produced Grist and republished by Rest of World:
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
If you live in a major city, your mayor is almost certainly aware of @annehidalgo.bsky.social's record.
If they're deciding not to follow her lead, that decision is a deliberate one.
If they're deciding not to follow her lead, that decision is a deliberate one.
Over 800km of new bike paths, pedestrian zones, school streets, 200,000 new trees, a 40% reduction in traffic, a 40% reduction in emissions, and a plan for a carbon neutral Paris by 2050. There is nothing stopping other city leaders from being this bold.
“One of Hidalgo’s most transformative achievements has been her push to reduce car dominance in Paris, a city historically shaped by automotive culture. Since 2014, her administration has added over 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of bike lanes, making cycling a viable and safe option for commuters.”
November 3, 2025 at 9:28 PM
If you live in a major city, your mayor is almost certainly aware of @annehidalgo.bsky.social's record.
If they're deciding not to follow her lead, that decision is a deliberate one.
If they're deciding not to follow her lead, that decision is a deliberate one.
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
The use of “risk” here is so fucking terrible. Like having an autistic kid is a bad thing. A risk you want to avoid. Like autistic people are something to get rid of.
🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
A new study adds to the evidence that viral infections during pregnancy might contribute to a child’s likelihood of having autism
COVID During Pregnancy May Increase Risk of Autism in Kids
A new study adds to the evidence that viral infections during pregnancy might contribute to a child’s likelihood of having autism
www.scientificamerican.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:07 PM
The use of “risk” here is so fucking terrible. Like having an autistic kid is a bad thing. A risk you want to avoid. Like autistic people are something to get rid of.
🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
Sigmund Freud, in Totem and Taboo, might have been talking about large language models. archive.org/details/stan...
![Screenshot of part of a printed page, reading: 'There is an intellectual function in us which demands unity, connection and intelligibility from any material, whether of perception or thought, that comes within its grasp; and if, as a result of special circumstances, it is unable to establish a true connection, it does not hesitate to fabricate a false one. Systems constructed in this way are known to us not only from dreams, but also from phobias, from obsessive thinking and from delusions. The construction of systems is seen most strikingly in delusional disorders (in paranoia), where it dominates the symptomatic picture; but its occurrence in other forms of neuro-psychosis must not be overlooked. In all these cases it can be shown that a rearrangement of the psychical material has been made with a fresh aim in view; and the rearrangement may often have to be a drastic one if the outcome is to be made to appear intelligible from the point of view of the system. Thus a system is best [....]'](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:zzdfjwuqqrke2q7scxbphedu/bafkreiczzb2pozahixjv5xsux53jatlv4w5ipgpu2jfseihbjlz2st6hoy@jpeg)
November 2, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Sigmund Freud, in Totem and Taboo, might have been talking about large language models. archive.org/details/stan...
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
#otd 1846 Frederick Douglass addressed a meeting at West-End Chapel in Hawick www.bulldozia.com/douglass-in-.... 1/5
Frederick Douglass in Scotland - Hawick: 2 November 1846
Newspaper accounts of the meeting addressed by Frederick Douglass in Hawick on 2 November, 1846.
www.bulldozia.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:28 AM
#otd 1846 Frederick Douglass addressed a meeting at West-End Chapel in Hawick www.bulldozia.com/douglass-in-.... 1/5
This hasn't got nearly enough attention as it should: www.commonweal.scot/policies/a-p...
A Property Tax For Scotland — Common Weal
A replacement for Council Tax based on the actual value of owned land and property.
www.commonweal.scot
November 1, 2025 at 12:58 PM
This hasn't got nearly enough attention as it should: www.commonweal.scot/policies/a-p...
'Joseph, born into enslavement in Saint-Domingue, became a world-renowned model in Paris thanks to Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa.' www.europeana.eu/en/stories/j...
Joseph - Who is the man portrayed in the Raft of the Medusa?
Europeana
www.europeana.eu
November 1, 2025 at 12:50 PM
'Joseph, born into enslavement in Saint-Domingue, became a world-renowned model in Paris thanks to Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa.' www.europeana.eu/en/stories/j...
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
I'm saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Elspeth King, the legendary curator of the People's Palace, and a fierce advocate for Glasgow and its history.
This was fascinating on the release of the film adaptation of Alasdair Gray's "Poor Things".
yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/01/10/p...
This was fascinating on the release of the film adaptation of Alasdair Gray's "Poor Things".
yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/01/10/p...
November 1, 2025 at 8:52 AM
I'm saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Elspeth King, the legendary curator of the People's Palace, and a fierce advocate for Glasgow and its history.
This was fascinating on the release of the film adaptation of Alasdair Gray's "Poor Things".
yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/01/10/p...
This was fascinating on the release of the film adaptation of Alasdair Gray's "Poor Things".
yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/01/10/p...
'Wherever we looked for the prominent flaggers and leaders of this movement, we found people smugglers and sex doll salesmen, people with dubious criminal pasts and people willing to put in a good word for Adolf Hitler.' manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
The men who raised the flags
Nigel Farage says this summer’s movement was led by ‘ordinary people’ expressing their patriotism. That’s not what we found
manchestermill.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 11:05 AM
'Wherever we looked for the prominent flaggers and leaders of this movement, we found people smugglers and sex doll salesmen, people with dubious criminal pasts and people willing to put in a good word for Adolf Hitler.' manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
RIP Peter Watkins, whose film about the 1871 Paris Commune treats it as if it were a current news event, with participants talking to reporters. It runs to nearly six hours & was shot in less than a fortnight in an abandoned factory www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDTT...
la commune.2000.peter watkins.film complet en francais
YouTube video by natasha fossati
www.youtube.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:02 AM
RIP Peter Watkins, whose film about the 1871 Paris Commune treats it as if it were a current news event, with participants talking to reporters. It runs to nearly six hours & was shot in less than a fortnight in an abandoned factory www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDTT...
Constellations of sheep
November 1, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Constellations of sheep
Reposted by Alasdair Pettinger
Creative types are in cities like London for the same reason Cornish miners were in Argentina.
October 31, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Creative types are in cities like London for the same reason Cornish miners were in Argentina.
'“I see myself as a Knight Templar. I am protecting the women and kids round here. I’m doing God’s work. And I think that’s what the Knights Templar used to do.”' www.bigissue.com/news/activis...
Meet the head of a Manchester group patrolling schools looking for 'outsiders'
The Heywood Community Guards, which patrols schools looking for 'outsiders', is raising difficult questions around vigilante justice.
www.bigissue.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:22 AM
'“I see myself as a Knight Templar. I am protecting the women and kids round here. I’m doing God’s work. And I think that’s what the Knights Templar used to do.”' www.bigissue.com/news/activis...