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ziparker.bsky.social
@ziparker.bsky.social
62 followers 88 following 12 posts
Head of the Doctoral College, Queen Mary University of London. Education enthusiast.
Swearing and opinions are my own.
What’s for dinner?
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ziparker.bsky.social
I love paddleboarding. Many of my friends ask me to take their children out to 'play' on the water. Paddleboarding is wonderful, but you need to be safe, wear the proper leash and PFD and respect the water. Its dangerous when not done properly: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Paddleboard guide jailed for 10 years over deaths of four people in Wales
Nerys Lloyd had pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter over expedition in swollen River Cleddau
www.theguardian.com
April 23, 2025 at 1:19 PM
ziparker.bsky.social
Catching up on #TheArchers from last week.
Fergal Sharkey about water companies polluting! AMAZING.
April 23, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Reposted
mrcwarwick.bsky.social
'From Easter Rising to Civil War: Ireland, 1916-1922'

Browse 82 pamphlets, reports, leaflets and postcards relating to the 1916 Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War.

Free and digitised in full at cdm21047.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...
Screenshot of the home page for 'From Easter Rising to Civil War: Ireland, 1916-1922', part of Warwick Digital Collections. It includes a photograph of Dublin, partly in ruins, with trams and carts crossing a bridge, and people gathering. Front page of booklet: "The "Sinn Féin" REVOLT ILLUSTRATED. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY HELY'S LIMITED, DAME STREET &: ACME WORKS, DUBLIN. PRICE ONE SHILLING. [ photograph of O'Connell Bridge & Sackville St. Dublin.]" Front page of Labour Party leaflet, 1921: "THE STRANGLING OF IRELAND An Appeal to British Women BY A British Woman. OUR RESPONSIBILITY. It is a pity that every British woman — Welsh, Scottish, and English — cannot go to Ireland and see for herself the abomination of British rule there. This cannot be. But ignorance of the facts cannot be accepted as an excuse for indifference. Quite enough has been published in all reputable newspapers to show British women that what the Government calls "law and order" in Ireland is in fact "anarchy and terrorism." The whole world is looking on in disgusted horror. Irish men and women can and will accept no plea of ignorance. British women, unless they stand out for justice and humanity in Ireland, will be branded before the world, and in the long memories of the Irish people, as callous or cruel, deaf to the call of liberty, narrow-minded, and slothful. If we keep silence, we tacitly condone the atrocities ordered or allowed by our Government. If we support the Government we are guilty in the first degree. Great Britain has for centuries ruled Ireland by force against the will of the enormous majority of the people. This, no doubt, is one of the reasons of our indifference to the wrongs of Ireland. They are so old! But every generation in turn is responsible for the wrongs done in its time, and the horror of wrong for which we, now living, are responsible in Ireland has never been surpassed. What is the state of affairs? TERRORISM. There have been many repetitions of sacking, looting, arson, and murder during the centuries of British rule in Ireland, but never worse than what has taken place during the past two years, with ever-increasing violence, culminating in the burning down of a large portion of Cork's main street, its Town Hall, and Carnegie Library." Front cover of printed report: "THE AMERICAN COMMISSION ON CONDITIONS IN IRELAND INTERIM REPORT (BRITISH EDITION) Price ONE Shilling (Post Free is. 3d.) HARDING & MORE LTD. 119 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON, W.C.1 1921"
April 16, 2025 at 11:54 AM
ziparker.bsky.social
Wednesday night is burger night.
Home made pickles.
Plastic cheese (obligatory).
April 16, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted
davidandress.bsky.social
The UK's descent into being nothing more than a Minitrumpland, while continuing to scream that it is the opposite, continues.
April 16, 2025 at 9:11 AM
ziparker.bsky.social
Do you have any concept of how difficult it is to get a gender recognition certificate, and how much pain you must be in in your own skin to put yourself through that?
Trans rights are human rights. This is bull.
April 16, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Reposted
lilblackheart.bsky.social
my toxic trait is saying “i have nothing to read" while having approximately 63590 unread books scattered around the house.
April 16, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Reposted
amydiehl.bsky.social
The Blue Origin women..."positioning themselves as aspirational models of femininity – have presented a profoundly antifeminist vision of what womankind’s future is: dependent on men, confined to triviality, and deeply, deeply silly." @moiradonegan.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Blue Origin flight showcased the utter defeat of American feminism | Moira Donegan
The trip leaned on a vision of women’s empowerment that is light on substance and heavy on a childlike, girlish silliness
www.theguardian.com
April 15, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted
theguardian.com
How Harvard’s pushback against Trump may embolden more US resistance
How Harvard’s pushback against Trump may embolden more US resistance
It may be a turning point in the White House’s attempt to gut allegedly liberal universities and punish law firms
www.theguardian.com
April 15, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted
barackobama.bsky.social
Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
April 15, 2025 at 3:52 AM
ziparker.bsky.social
Viral food trends are a nonsense.
That Tod bloke is a numpty.
You do not need to queue for 2 hours for a baked potato.
Don’t eat fish and chips in pubs -
universally terrible. Brick Lane Beigals are yellow shop or white shop - don’t eat the rainbow ones.

www.vogue.co.uk/article/tik-...
What It’s Like To Visit A Viral TikTok Restaurant As A Food Snob
“Nowadays the queues come first, and the acclaim comes later, or maybe never. Is quality actually important?”
www.vogue.co.uk
April 15, 2025 at 8:05 PM
ziparker.bsky.social
Tough week (it’s only Tuesday) equates to an excellent reason for Tuesday Night Roast Potatoes:
April 15, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted
qmulsse.bsky.social
Our first inaugural lecture of the year, next month join us and Professor @lassethomassen.bsky.social for “'I sure miss George W. Bush:' Deconstruction, Post-Truth and Trump”

📅 26 March, 18:00-19:30
📍 QMUL, Mile End
🎟️ Register at the link
“I sure miss George W. Bush:” Deconstruction, Post-Truth and Trump
Professorial public lecture with Professor Lasse Thomassen
www.eventbrite.co.uk
February 17, 2025 at 9:37 AM
ziparker.bsky.social
Nicola Jennings cartoon in the Guardian referencing Gilray’s 1805 ‘Plumb-pudding in danger’ and “delivering Ukraine on a silver platter”.
The most famous political cartoon of all time, still revamped, still relevant.
Still bloody terrifying.
Nicola Jennings Cartoon from the Guardian, 16th Feb 2025. Shows exaggerated forms of Trump and Putin “carving” Zelenskyy’s head, which is in a silver platter. Putin has blood on his hands and utensils. Trump is wearing a soiled bib that says “Nobel Peace Prize” 1805 James Gilray Cartoon, The Plumb Pudding in danger. William Pitt on left wearing tricorn hat. Napoleon on right, wearing mad regimental feathers. Both carving up a ‘plumb pudding’ representing the globe/ particularly Europe. Pitt takes the sea, Napoleon takes the land.
February 17, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Reposted
resprofnews.bsky.social
UKRI chief executive: research budgets ‘will be tight’.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
February 12, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Reposted
qmul-dc.bsky.social
#InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience – A great opportunity to remind you that the British Council Women in STEM Scholarships are still open!

🎓Fully funded Master’s at @qmul.ac.uk
🌍For women from 🇮🇩 🇲🇲 🇵🇭 🇹🇭
✅Covers tuition, travel & living costs
www.qmul.ac.uk/scholarships...
Items - Queen Mary University of LondonFacebookTwitter XInstagramYouTubeLinkedInTikTok
www.qmul.ac.uk
February 11, 2025 at 11:48 AM
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stephenking.bsky.social
Trump is an extremely dangerous man--stupid, vindictive, fixated on payback for his enemies. This country will be lucky to survive him.
January 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted
davidandress.bsky.social
The planet is literally dying around them. Their parents' generation keeps voting fascists into office who deny it's happening, and persecute people who have clearly, obviously done nothing wrong.

And you COMPLAIN about teenagers' mental health?

newrepublic.com/article/1903...
Are Cell Phones Really Destroying Kids’ Mental Health?
Jonathan Haidt once heralded an “ultrasocial” world. Now he’s one of social media’s most prominent critics.
newrepublic.com
January 30, 2025 at 1:02 PM
ziparker.bsky.social
Sticky sticky stick stick.
January 31, 2025 at 7:18 AM
ziparker.bsky.social
2025 - already doing the hard things.
Mark Titchner artwork spotted on the Mile End Road reminding us of the good things.
Mark Titchner artwork. Red, Orange, Blue and Yellow splotches that look a bit like flowers. Bearing the legend in big white letters “it’s the hope that keeps us here”
January 30, 2025 at 6:03 PM
ziparker.bsky.social
I know there's a wider debate about Generative AI, the security, ethics & frankly the cost of it (both literal and environmental). But what is most interesting to me in this piece is the idea that GenAI bots have bias built in, & can express that bias as legit: www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Experts urge caution over use of Chinese AI DeepSeek
Oxford professor advises against putting private data on platform in case it could be shared with Chinese state
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted
mmitchell.bsky.social
Holy moly. I'm trying to write an academic paper, and nearly every application I'm using is not only offering Generative AI as an option for writing, but *pushing it* -- pervading the design to the point where a simple misclick would make my content AI-generated. Here's why that's a problem. 🧵
Screenshot of Google docs generative AI agent asking me to Rephrase, Shorten, Elaborate, More formal.
January 27, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted
blindboyboatclub.bsky.social
After the year of McCarthyism that we’ve seen, I have to entertain the idea that Kneecap got left off the Oscars shortlist because they would have used the platform for Palestine
January 23, 2025 at 9:54 PM
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resprofnews.bsky.social
The University of Leeds has become the first Russell Group university to officially announce that it is quitting Elon Musk’s social media site X.

It will, however, be alive and well on Bluesky.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
January 23, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted
susiedentwords.bsky.social
Word of day is ‘unasinous’ (17th century): united in stupidity.

A riff on ‘unanimous’: which comes from the Latin for ‘one mind’. ‘Unasinous’ means ‘one ass’.
January 22, 2025 at 9:05 AM