David Storey

Ilan Pappé, On the Warpath — Sidecar Israel’s regional stategy.

On the warpath -
Ilan Pappe @newleftreview.bsky.social
newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

Barcelona fan left red-faced after travelling to WRONG St James' Park 366 miles away A Barcelona fan missed the Champions League clash against Newcastle after accidentally turning up at the wrong St James Park.

In the wrong place!
share.google/jex3tCgZvoCw...

Goodhart’s law never dies:

“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure".

In this case measuring the proportion of research active staff has encouraged behaviour where the non research active are no longer classified as staff.

Cork hill highlights the limits of democracy in the digital age Everyday frictions over traffic, housing and local planning are exposing a growing tension across Ireland and Europe between democratic decision-making and the power of global technology companies.

'Where trucks go to die'!
@jackmccarronkk.bsky.social on maps, navigation and the "tension between local democratic responsibility and the global platforms that shape how people move through shared spaces across Ireland and Europe"
www.rte.ie/news/primeti...

This was an excellent event with many thought-provoking contributions.
Well done to the organisers

An Irish pub expert's top five in Dublin After years living abroad, Irishman Colm Dalton's search for home has led him to rate 155 Irish pubs in 51 countries. Now he rates the best of the best in the Irish capital.

'If you see anything leprechaun-related… just run. Or these fake signs that say rubbish like, 'If you're looking for a sign to drink, this is it.'"
@publicanenemy.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/travel/artic...

Selling a ‘defensive’ war Des Freedman examines the British Media’s failure to challenge Britain’s aggression on Iran Britain is, apparently, not at war with Iran.

"The vast majority of the media all too often obediently adopt the role of stenographer and publicist. We see plenty of images of smoke, explosions and expensive military hardware but very little analysis of the legality of this ‘defensive’ position"
www.counterfire.org/article/sell...

How Medieval Irish people saw themselves as Europeans & not Celts There are numerous examples in texts of Irish people showing a sense of belonging to a community defined in relation to Europe

Ireland's cultural geographic links:
Patrick Wadden on Ireland as a space of European connections rather than a Celtic periphery
@rtebrainstorm.bsky.social
www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Where have all the GAA players gone? Changes in demographics, population and urbanisation are presenting significant challenges for GAA clubs in both urban and rural areas

Where have all the players gone?
Katherine Maughan on the impact of demographic change on Gaelic games
@rtebrainstorm.bsky.social
www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

The war on Iran is already upending the Middle East. Look to the Gulf states to see how | Nesrine Malik Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are finding their carefully projected image of stability has been blown away, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

States of instability:
@nesrinemalik.bsky.social on the Iran war, Gulf state sovereignty and shattered images
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There was no nuclear threat. US-Israeli war on Iran is blind vengeance This short-sighted strategy of miscalculation can only lead to a greater disaster for Iranians and the region as a whole

Geopolitics, geo-economics and regional hegemony
@middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social
www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/ther...

Statement by President Connolly on International Women’s Day 2026 | President of Ireland Welcome to the website of the President of Ireland.

"What we have witnessed in recent days in the Middle East, and beyond, are not political disputes. They are deliberate assaults on international law.... We must name them as such, without euphemism and without equivocation"
@president.ie
president.ie/en/media-lib...

Trump administration ‘flooding the atmosphere with lies’, Mary Robinson says Former president tells Belfast rally marking International Women’s Day that ‘undermining of the rule of law’ is very worrying for the world

"We have an administration in the United States which is flooding the atmosphere with lies, not to be believed, but to confuse, to confuse that there is no truth. Truth is our relations with each other ... we must flourish together.”
Mary Robinson
www.irishtimes.com/ireland/soci...

Once a warmonger, always a warmonger

The triumph of measurement over meaning

Scream! Mural outside Worcestershire cricket ground, New Road

Absolutely

Bureaucracy is putting universities on the wrong track to respond to AI We cannot bureaucratise our way into producing better thinkers, any more than we can automate wisdom, says Akhil Bhardwaj

"Thinking, especially the kind education is meant to cultivate, resists standardisation. We cannot bureaucratise our way into producing better thinkers, any more than we can automate wisdom"
@timeshighered.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/bure...

Indeed

Tomorrow @worcesteruni.bsky.social

David Harvey at Ninety Late last year David Harvey reached the august age of ninety. There can be very few who have made such far reaching contributions to the field. In his honor, there have been a number of celebration…

'Geographers of the world unite'
Kevin Cox in praise of 'restless scholar' @davidharvey.org
kevinrcox.wordpress.com/2026/03/05/d...

there are like 50 people in the country who want the UK to get involved in the Iran War, one of them is Kemi Badenoch, one of them is Nigel Farage, and the other 48 are newspaper columnists

"Iran is run by lunatics, religious fanatic lunatics" Marco Rubio

Imperial geographies and the return of lebensraum

@professorchadwick.bsky.social
@paulwiddop.bsky.social

He seems more than capable of doing that himself

An eclectic mix of recent purchases
#WorldBookDay

Read these words from 100 years ago about immigrants in Britain – and see how history is chillingly repeating itself | George Monbiot Shabana Mahmood’s new rights clampdown looks outlandish until we remember that this kind of hardline action is part of our country’s fabric, says George Monbiot

'"Scheming aliens undermining our values” is a narrative built across a century and more... It has been drilled into our heads as if it were an incontrovertible truth. It creates an environment in which every minority becomes less safe"
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Book Group The last Thursday of every month was Book Group,
when the books would gather together to discuss Brian. “It’s no fun here any more,” remarked Bleak House, glumly.
“Why doesn’t he read us?” whined the Grapes of Wrath. “It makes me so angry!” 
“I’m sure he only bought me so he can show me off to his friends,”
complained Ulysses, in a stream of self-consciousness. “I bet he can’t even remember my name, The Idiot,”
muttered a voice from the Russian literature section.
“That’s because he avoids you like The Plague,” said another.
“C’est vrai!” came a cry. “It is like I do not exist.” “Let’s not give up on him yet.” It was Brave New World.
After some Persuasion, they agreed to give him one last chance.
“Be quiet!” cried Waiting for Godot with Great Expectations.
“Here he comes now!” Brian entered the room, with his phone.
He sat down and watched some videos of baby pandas falling over.
After an hour or so, he started googling cats dressed as celebrities. On the shelf, the books waited with uncracked spines,
their silence speaking volumes. Brian Bilston

In celebration of World Book Day, here’s a poem called ‘Book Group’.

Aston Villa, Ireland, and the market for memory The Premier League club has just released new merchandise to mark St. Patrick's Day

The market for memory:
Football, identity and nostalgia
@professorchadwick.bsky.social @paulwiddop.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/profchad...