Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by JoJo Smith

Matthew Wright

@matthew-wright.bsky.social

But the 34 former Dulwich college pupils who say Farage was a racist and antisemitic bully continue to wait for theirs...

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Nigel Farage apologises for 17 breaches of MPs’ code of conduct

Reform UK leader fails to declare £380,000 on time, saying he is computer-illiterate ‘oddball’

www.theguardian.com

January 21, 2026 at 10:33 AM

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Biggie

@biggienotsmalls.bsky.social

Surprise..Surprise....NOT!...

January 19, 2026 at 11:07 PM

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Robin Ince

@robinince.bsky.social

I try to think of future projects , but we should have been doing another series of Monkey Cage this month and it makes me feel a little sick that we’re not. I offered to do it before departing , but the execs were happy to have me gone.

thecosmicshamblesnetwork.substack.com/p/a-difficul...

A Difficult Few Months

Robin Ince reflects on the final night of Monkey Cage

thecosmicshamblesnetwork.substack.com

January 18, 2026 at 5:15 PM

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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 · 10d

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

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Christopher Webb

@cwebbonline.com

A Black man was killed by ICE (off duty) in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. And like Renée Good, he was an American citizen. But most people have not heard about Keith Porter.

I need y’all to realize this. Black people experience this lack of visibility all the time when it comes to being victims.

January 10, 2026 at 3:24 PM

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Dave Keating

@davekeating.substack.com

The works of Plato are now being banned at schools in the United States.

Tell me again how censorship is a European problem? 🤔

Plato Has Been Censored; What Next?

PEN America condemns and calls absurd Texas A&M censoring Plato readings and discussions related to race and gender

pen.org

January 8, 2026 at 9:34 AM

Reposted by JoJo Smith

Rep. Judy Chu

@chu.house.gov

I am outraged by the horrific killing of a legal observer perpetrated by Donald Trump's ICE agents in South Minneapolis. Video footage shows clearly that this killing was unjustified. I demand a full investigation and this agent must be held accountable. www.npr.org/2026/01/07/n...

ICE agent fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis amid immigration crackdown

The Department of Homeland Security accused the victim of being a "rioter" and that the ICE officer who pulled the trigger was "fearing for his life." Mayor Jacob Frey rejected claims of self-defense.

www.npr.org

January 7, 2026 at 10:06 PM

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Biggie

@biggienotsmalls.bsky.social

Your weekly reminder....

December 31, 2025 at 8:11 PM

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Anonymous

@youranoncentral.bsky.social

Trump and his Israeli handler in the Oval Office (top); Israeli intelligence asset Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion interior

December 27, 2025 at 12:41 AM

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Ana Marie Cox

@anamariecox.bsky.social

So Bari Weiss’s first real editorial intervention at CBS is to repress coverage of American concentration camps.

December 22, 2025 at 3:05 AM

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Mark Hamill

@markhamillofficial.bsky.social

Happy EPSTEIN Files Release Day Eve for all those who celebrate!!! 👍

December 19, 2025 at 12:09 AM

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Steel City Vegan

@indashadoz.bsky.social

Never forget.

December 19, 2025 at 1:17 AM

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Robin Ince

@robinince.bsky.social

Not many gigs next year , but I will be at #leicester comedy festival with new show Let The Quiet Ones Rise which I am hugely looking forward to

events.comedy-festival.co.uk/events/robin...

Robin Ince: Let the Quiet Ones Rise | Leicester Comedy Festival

events.comedy-festival.co.uk

December 17, 2025 at 9:45 AM

Reposted by JoJo Smith

Tengen’s 4th Wife 🦋

@asgardianqueen.bsky.social

Donald Trump is a deplorable piece of shit.

December 15, 2025 at 5:23 PM

JoJo Smith

@jojosmithuk.bsky.social

How’s this for a memory? Magnificent Miriam Margolyes, stupendous Stephen K Amos and me on a night out in Edinburgh August 2014.

December 11, 2025 at 6:57 PM

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani

@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social

Last week, ICE arrested and separated a father and son after a routine check-in. Six-year-old Yuanxin had just enrolled in the first grade at an elementary school in Astoria. Now he's in custody, alone. ICE won't say where. This cruelty serves no one. It must end.

December 2, 2025 at 9:16 PM

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Michael Daly

@michaeldaly64.bsky.social

New Half Man Half Biscuit single out now!

Tom Jamieson @tomjam.bsky.social · Nov 24

14 words and not a single one wasted 👏👏👏

November 26, 2025 at 8:20 AM

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Bethany Black

@bethanyblack.bsky.social

If I could get people to understand one thing about agoraphobia; it’s not like when Sigourney Weaver faints trying to leave the house in Copycat, I can go to work, because one thing that’s more terrifying than leaving the house is not having a house to be in.

November 25, 2025 at 2:42 PM