Nicki

"The rich are only defeated when running for their lives." - CLR James, The Black Jacobins

Three years into this genocide there’s still many who think this is too “nuanced” or “complicated” to have an opinion on it

Excellent analysis. There is no sugarcoating what is happening here in Germany. Most of the political centre is enabling if not actively supporting the rise of fascism. The Left‘s remarkable performance in the Berlin elections is not being heralded as an earthquake but treated as a threat.

I’ve marked several essays about the terrible crimes of King Leopard II in the Belgian Congo

Don't know what to say anymore

A very dear friend and antifascist comrade is facing serious charges resulting from defending migrants housed in hotels in Bristol from a far right march in 2025. He's a father, has £11k in legal fees up front, and may be facing prison time if he doesn't win. Please dobate below.

Plans for university restructuring and cuts follow the same pattern - an announcement of voluntary severance schemes, followed by risk of redundancy letters and then a 90-day consultation period. What happens during these negotiations? Our latest dispatch explores further

they've been pushing "AI in the classroom" for years now and while the studies of its detrimental effects pile up, and *student* as well as instructor resistance builds, the arguments for it haven't gotten any better or even changed from this tired, greasy attempt at giving orders

Can you imagine, can you imagine, what the cops, the media and the political class would be doing right now if a left group dressed in masks and uniforms to go blockade a port

On the one hand, the press hound a black scholar to death, on the other hand, on this one, where the academic fraud is front and centre and the dude is an Epstein pal... crickets... www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...

The British Press routinely hounds named individuals to suicide. Break up the papers and regulate them into nonexistence because their continued operation is a threat to everyone who lives here who they may choose to target.

Kind of hard for Bluesky people to argue this was all about academic standards when these guys are openly crowing that it was about race

This is an absolute travesty. Northwestern has, probably, the 2nd best library collection for African History/Studies in the USA (behind Yale and ahead of MSU, UCLA, etc). A self-inflicted wound that is absolutely, 100% unnecessary given the massive wealth of Northwestern--north of $15 billion.

“Look I am quite capable of destroying higher education *and* kicking trans people in the teeth at the same time and I deserve to be allowed to continue”

what the fuck do you mean "everyone is using AI and nobody admits it." what the fuck do you mean. who are you talking to. you have allowed a demon to devour your soul. begone

1/4 A growing number of higher education institutions are using dirty tactics to undermine staff pension rights, pay and working conditions.

Cardiff Uni have proudly put out press about this to celebrate

🧵Bittersweet in the bonfire of UKHE, and some personal disappointment from my Uni, but receiving recognition from my peers is the most incredible honor, and I'm lucky in so many ways. A huge thank you to the Social History Society for awarding me the book prize. www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/30...

Today is ten years to the day since my dad died, and I am finding reading this wonderful thread of real computer science comforting. I have some ideas of what he would think of AI code, and I treasure his 1970s programming punch cards. Miss you dad

Given ongoing attacks on university staff and research (at @exeter.ac.uk and many other institutions) with arts and humanities, critical social sciences, environmental science and sustainability particular targets, it’s worth resharing ‘Universities Degraded’.

@exeter.ac.uk is not in deficit, has £200m+ cash reserves, hasn’t invested in white elephants, doesn’t have a recruitment problem, never had 1000s of international students, and deliveres outstanding outcomes in teaching and research. If UEB’s data projects a deficit won’t they share it with UCU?

And now it is Exeter's turn. Along with c.500 other academic staff, mostly in humanities, my job is 'at risk' in order to make c.150 of us redundant 😞

A statement from Exeter UCU branch @ucu.org.uk - please share far and wide.

Other kids must study how to survive and work most efficiently within the real world (apprenticing, skills, AI) and their kids must get to explore new intellectual frontiers

It's never just about saving money, the point of university restructuring is to be cruel and bring about trauma, based on an assumption that traumatized subjects do not fight back.

The Society now invites applications, from PhD students, for the 2026-27 Martin Lynn Scholarship in African History bit.ly/4xD5ZyN The Scholarship provides funding to support doctoral research in Africa and is named for the late Professor Martin Lynn (QUB). Closing date 4 September #Skystorians 1/2

"Cardiff University has admitted that it doesn’t know how much it is spending overall on external consultants or hold a central record of what work they are doing." Staff expenditure: Count every last penny or you may lose your job. Their expenditure: Meh.

This is an incredible win using really powerful strike threat, huge congratulations to @ucuhallam.bsky.social It’s coming for the rest of the sector, and we need to learn faster than the velociraptors

Every staff update in every university right now: 1. We are excited to announce a strategic investment of eleventeen squillion pounds in ACRONYM, a new AI-powered centre for the development of strategic acronyms. 2. Staff have until Friday to apply for enhanced Voluntary Death.

Just to note, Cardiff Uni management has paid over £1m to this dangerously bad consultancy in only the last 11 months. At redundancy rates over 2025/26, that’s about 13 full time academics (who are just “costs”)

Excellent thread on UK uni sector risks, can vouch for the cardiff non-crisis

Horrific. The university executive should not know peace

It must be emphasized that we need powerful, robust ACADEMIC history IN universities to sustain history OUTSIDE universities. If we can’t employ people in higher ed to train future generations of public historians, we will not have future generations of public historians. 🗃️

Wes Streeting [redacted] challenge